


What If?

by Witch_of_History



Series: Moments Define [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternative Canon, F/F, F/M, M/M, Suggestive Past Thalia and Luke, What If they didn't die?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-09
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-01-26 05:57:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 48,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21369277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Witch_of_History/pseuds/Witch_of_History
Summary: What If - Percy ran into Tyson on the playground? Sally wasn't afraid? What If - Thalia and Percy got to be cousins? What If - that changed everything?Moments define us, but some of them also change our world forever. Because of events in his childhood, Percy gets the chance to see things he was blind to, and save those he couldn't before.Tags and ratings to be updated as writing continues
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Jason Grace/Piper McLean, Juniper/Grover Underwood, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace, Paul Blofis/Sally Jackson
Series: Moments Define [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1553302
Comments: 26
Kudos: 178





	1. What If, Percy Met Tyson Early?

“Mommy, mommy! Can I go play soccer with the other kids?” Percy was looking at her with those baby seal eyes that his father had warned her about, it was almost too hard to resist. “I promise I’ll stay close by...” 

Sally smiled softly as she leaned down to ruffle his hair, kissing the top of his head lightly. She was forever grateful that he never had the phase where mom wasn’t cool. “Go make some friends. But if you can’t see me..” 

“You can’t see me. I know, I promise.” He giddily ran off to play with the other kids, kicking up grass as he went. It was a good day, Gabe had been sober most of the week and had worked enough to pay off all the bills early so he could save up for his next poker game. Percy’s scent was covered for at least the next few days and Gabe’s family had offered to take responsibility for some of the wedding payments, which meant that she had enough saved to cover getting Percy to school next year and some new things he’d need. 

Sally watched him play for as long as she could before feeling her phone buzzing in her pocket. His mother. “Hello Mrs...” Sally almost flinched as she listened to this woman squeal about how excited she was that Sally had finally agreed to wear her wedding dress since her daughter had ran off with that “ugly mess of a snake womanizer of hers” and  _ ruined _ the family name. Like it wasn’t a terrible name anyway. “Thank you, I’ll let you...” Her breath caught in her throat as she saw the boy with one eye waving Percy over to the tree. “Oh god, Percy?” She tried to keep the frantic tone out of her voice as she tried to get him to leave the boy alone. Did babies eat demigods or was that learned when they were big enough to fight? She quickly said that Percy was getting too far away and she needed to hang up. Luckily, as a mother Mrs. Ugliano understood. 

But Percy just waved back and smiled next to the boy, moving to look at the tree. Her heart raced as she walked over and tried to put on a smile for the other parents. Percy beamed at her when she reached them, grabbing for her hand and bringing her over to see the bird’s nest. “Look what my friend Tyson found!” He was four years old, almost five and she was completely terrified of losing him. His  _ friend _ , the cyclops child, was almost a head taller than him but he barely spoke three words and those were “My name Tyson.” 

“Percy we should get going. Maybe you can meet Tyson here later, after I get back from work.” They would never be coming back to this park again, but Percy was never good with directions so he would just be sad that he didn’t see his friend again. 

But it was barely a week later that they found him outside a shop while the owner took a broom to his side to try and get the boy off his step. This mortal couldn’t see that he wasn’t a mortal boy, he just saw some homeless kid sleeping on his step and he was hitting him. Percy was there in a second, blocking the hits. As soon as one of them landed on him, Tyson suddenly had the energy to stand up and get in front of him with his eye red from tears but angry as hell. “No!” 

Sally sprinted forward and grabbed the broom right out of his hands, glaring him in the eye. “I would close your shop for the day if I was you.” As soon as the man was gone, she kneeled by Tyson’s side as he collapsed next to her. “Oh baby, what did he do to you? Let me see. I’m Percy’s mom remember? I’m gonna help you.” She almost sobbed when she saw the scrapes all over his body, she thought that was the was the worst of it. But his back....“Percy, pick up my phone please and the bag. We’re taking Tyson home.” 

He wasn’t bleeding anymore but the scars were ugly and blistering. She was carrying him the whole way, almost in a piggy back but she had to keep him from slipping. She almost cried out in relief when she saw Gabe wasn’t at home when she got there, putting Tyson on the couch and checking Percy over. He was fine, maybe a bruise on his arm. “Run your arm under cold water. Get Tyson some new clothes, the ones Mrs. Santiago dropped off.” She prayed Tyson was the son of who she thought he was because if not this was going to do nothing. He was only foggily conscious and she prayed Gabe nor anyone he associated with walked in as she stripped the child down to his shorts and filled the tub with as much water as she could before lifting him into it. She made sure he could sit up and not slide under the water before she grabbed a washcloth and started cleaning him. She had to drain the water two times before finally the water stayed clear. He blinked at her as he slowly seemed to wake up, tensing as he looked around. 

“You’re okay!” Percy looked at him from the doorway holding the new clothes that he had picked out. “And you’re clean!” It was like magic as Tyson immediately relaxed when he saw his half brother, her suspicions confirmed when she saw the thin white lines on his back instead of what was there before. “Mommy, is he staying?” 

Sally didn’t know what to do. She remembered the empousa that tried to eat her first boyfriend and the cyclops,  _ the cyclops _ , that crashed her high school graduation. She remembered the one that mimicked his voice and drew her into a dark warehouse. She knew immediately something was wrong so she tried to leave...Poseidon got her out of there but she was being dragged by the hair to a spit when he got there. Every time she thought of the cyclopes she’d seen, she would feel her throat tightening in anxiety of them coming for Percy. But the baby cy...the  _ boy _ in front of her didn’t give her that feeling. He was just as scared as she was, looking like he was expecting her to hit him or eat him. Just like she originally thought of him. “I’m going to see if he has a family, But until then, yes.” 

Tyson ate. Not in the, I’m growing and I need it, kind of way. But the,  _ I’ve been starving on the streets and this is real food _ kind of way. So she made all the soup she had in the house for him because the apple she offered confused him and made his nose wrinkle and the pasta she made would have choked him because he didn’t know how to chew. He took in three cans before deciding he liked tomato soup with bread. Her smile only waned when he asked what she did with the blue fuzzy bits. 

“Can Tyson stay in my room?” The question squeezed her chest and threatened to steal her breath, but her lungs were made of iron and her smile was painted on. Percy pouted when she told him he would have to stay on the couch but Tyson’s face when she showed him made it all okay. Because this was better than his box in the alley. “Is Tyson going to brush his teeth?” 

That was almost a complete disaster but at least it got Percy to do it without complaint because he wanted to show his new friend. Tyson’s teeth were mangled and disgusting but nothing Percy’s old toothbrush and floss couldn’t handle. It wasn’t that bad considering, he might have been younger than Percy which would give him only three to four years of not brushing. Percy was sent to bed before they finished though. “Clean!” 

They were still kind of yellow stained and still mangled, but they were clean. Sally ruffled his hair and decided it needed a brushing through before bed to make sure it wasn’t a matted mess in the morning. She took out a brush, holding it to his eye. “Watch me, this is what I’m going to do for your hair. It keeps falling in your eye so I thought I could...” She showed him how she was going to brush his hair. 

“My eye?” Tyson asked as she started brushing and she almost fainted. For one, it seemed like he learned more words and two, he knew she saw him. “No friends with Percy?” He sounded like he knew this was coming, like he was just waiting for her to turn him away. 

Sally realized in that second that he was a child, someone’s child and Percy’s half brother. He shared the same goldy DNA that Percy did and there was nothing, nothing that made them any different but their moms. Sure if he was older and grew up on the streets or with a mom that taught him wrong, she would have grabbed the knife  _ he _ gave her and stabbed him the first chance she got. But he was small and he was scared and... “Tyson, do remember when the man with the stick tried to hit Percy? Can you tell me why you got in front of him?” 

“Tyson sleepy but Percy in trouble.” Tyson said it like it was the simplest thing in the world to him. “Percy is friend.” When Sally smiled at him he tried to smile back, like he didn’t know how so he was mimicking her. 

“Do you look at Percy the way you look at the bread I gave you or the soup?” When he shook his head and said Percy smelled good but her food smelled better, she didn’t know how to feel. On one hand, Percy smelled like food. But on the other, as long as she fed him bread and soup he wouldn’t look at Percy like that. And maybe if they stayed friends, he would forget that he smelled good. “You can be friends with Percy then.” 

Tyson stayed the night. And the next. On the third day of Tyson’s stay, she took him to the police station to see if there was any record of a family. She knew there wasn’t going to be but at the very least it was something to tell Gabe and a way to show anyone else she wasn’t just kidnapping him. And when one of the ladies told her that she should have just left him, that his junkie of a mom would probably find him sooner or later, she just sort of smiled and said, “I’m not sorry to tell you, but I’m not a junkie. And if no one finds his family, he’s going to be part of mine.”

Two days later and Tyson had a cot in Percy’s room, a couple sets of clothes and could speak in full sentences. He had his own toothbrush, a purple one she got from the dentist after she went. Percy and him decided they were brothers and went everywhere together. When Percy had to go to school, he cried and said it wasn’t fair. But then Sally told him that Tyson would be there when he got home and he would be going to school next year too; he would get to come home and tell Tyson all about school. And so he went and they hugged goodbye and Sally took Tyson to get a haircut. The day was almost perfect. And the best part? Percy wasn’t there when Gabe got home.


	2. What If, Gabe Hit Sally In Sight?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tyson sees the woman who brought him to a home and gave him a brother get hurt. He might be a monster, but even he would never hit someone like her.

She was expecting him to be angry and she was expecting him to be too drunk to do anything but pass out and make more of a mess for her to clean. What she wasn’t expecting was for him to come home sober and already in a foul mood because his new boss actually invited him on a trip and fully expected him to be sober and cigarette free for the  _ entire _ trip. Not only was his stench significantly less than it was originally, but his weight had lessened slightly over the course of this new boss’ employment. He was no longer a pot bellied pig, but a reasonable adult that might actually be able to pick up his own beer. 

“Sally, I need a beer and the best thing you can make while keeping that cute ass in my view.” She covered her flinch by turning away to throw his favorite sandwich together and ignored his calls for a strip show while she was at it. Apparently since he didn’t get to see one on his trip, she was required to give him one. She was just lucky his family was conservative and would have a fit if they slept together before marriage. “Sally, did you finally knock Percy right or is there another kid in the apartment?” 

_ Like I could ever hit my kids you... _ She almost paused moving around the small apartment to find Tyson when she realized what had just passed through her head. Tyson was her kid. Tyson with his quickly growing vocabulary and his easy smiles that he showed right before he went to bed to show he cleaned his teeth. “That’s Tyson, he’s staying with me for a little while until we can find him a home.” Gods, she hoped Tyson knew that wasn’t true. 

He was frozen in the bathroom doorway, a fist covering his cheek like he was about to rub his eyes. His chest showed his shaky breathing and the wrinkles in his forehead showed his fear. This man was knew. He was a  _ man _ and he wasn’t happy. She knew enough to know just how many of those the kid before her had encountered. “Sally?” 

She moved effortlessly in front of him and tried to keep her fingers from shaking as she stroked his freshly cut hair. He looked so normal.... “Can you go to Percy’s room please and go pick out a game you want to play with Percy when he gets home? That way he can tell you all about school.” 

As soon as his light hair disappeared, she felt Gabe move closer. “So you’re fostering a kid. You didn’t tell me. He’s the reason the grocery bill has been so high, he eats like a grown man. Or maybe it’s you eating too much, trying to fit in my mother’s wedding dress.”  _ Oh gods, please don’t... _ “Maybe you’ve had enough to eat for a little while.” His fingers were crawling their ways around her skull and tangling into her hair, suddenly just pulling her from where her feet were concreted to the floor and dragging her body to the kitchen. He never let go of her with the one hand, forcing her to her knees and went about ransacking her cupboards looking for the box where she kept all of her grocery money, out of his reach. She didn’t even know how he knew about it, the only time he went in the kitchen was when he grabbing one of her plastic utensils. “There it is. I think I’ll take some of this as payment for dealing with your greed. That’s fair, don’t you think?” Her forced her to shake her head, his eyes getting a darker gleam to them. “You know I think I like you like this.” 

His attention was drawn away from her terrified face as he caught sight of the unfinished sandwich on the counter. She wasn’t sure who to thank, but magically the knives she had been forced to use were hidden in the dishwasher and that was just too much effort for him. “Or maybe you want to gorge yourself some more?” 

Sally had a friend who could put her whole fist in her mouth, but her jaw tended to lock a lot if she did it frequently. Now Sally knew what she felt as she did it, trying to keep her throat from screaming at her and her eyes watering. She could feel one of her teeth starting to wiggle and she prayed to god he didn’t knock one of her teeth out. When he was done shoving the sandwich in her mouth, laughing as he finally let go. Her jaw was stuck and that just made him laugh harder. “What’s the matter Sally? Having trouble swallowing around something so big? I would have thought you had a lot of practice with that.” Finally his fist flew right into her jaw, she knew it was coming but she was never prepared. The food flew everywhere and there was a crack as the right side of her jaw popped. 

There was no sound before Gabe was laying down in front of her, his eyes rolled up into the back of his head and his fat tongue plastered to the roof of his mouth. She hoped he choked on it. “Mom?” That’s when she remembered her jaw and the pain started to hit her. For some reason she wasn’t even remotely scared when Tyson put his hands on her jaw and faintly started glowing green. He didn’t give her any warning either, breaking it back into place with muscle a four year old should not have had. “Daddy told me how to fix.” 

If she wasn’t crying and trying not scream she would have questioned him on that. 

* * *

“I’m just glad your neighbor came in, miss.” She was filing a police report. She was selling her wedding ring. She was officially adopting Tyson. It was a big day for everyone, though she could have gone without having to pay off the twenty year old next door to say she was the one to fix her jaw instead of a crying Tyson who was spouting gibberish. And as it turns out, crying four year olds protect Percy just fine. The dracanae getting his arm fixed didn’t even glance at them as they hurried to leave the hospital. 

She paused at the car to unlock the door, hoping the boys would be good and climb into their car seats on their own. But Percy was staring at the car in confusion, his mouth twisted in a funny way. “Mom, does this mean Tyson is staying longer?” 

Tyson had somehow figured out how to strap himself in and was waiting patiently for her to start the car, but his eyes were now on her. “This means that if Tyson wants, he can stay forever.” Even the sirens weren’t louder than her boys on the car ride home.


	3. What If, Sally Sent Both To School?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sally figured nothing could go wrong by sending them off too school, at least with Tyson protecting them from monsters. She forgot that not all monsters wore their ugliness on their faces.

Screaming, just screaming. Colors were flashing everywhere and she was terrified that if she stepped into the hurricane, she would surely be caught by one of the sharp objects flying around their heads. No, this was not a normal first day of school chaos. Tyson and Percy had actually made stuff start flying around the room with their arguing, the tub overflowing onto the pile of dirty laundry. 

“No blue pancakes before school if this mess isn’t clean.” Her voice shouldn’t have reached over the chaos but you don’t get between those boys and their pancakes. Suddenly the laundry was washed and dried, the tub was back to being empty and almost everything was back where it was supposed to be. If the picture of her uncle was backwards and upside down, if her books were out of order...who cared. “Okay, breakfast is on the table.” 

The boys attacked their food, ravaging through it all until nothing was left on their plates. With Gabe gone, they’d struggled to survive for a little while before she found this group that helped single parents and low income families stay on their feet. They provided food and shelter if needed, hand me down clothes and classes. She’d gotten her first novel published through them and that had been enough to get a savings account with good interest, a decent apartment and some groceries. She still uses the budget plan they gave her. Christmas of last year, Tyson got an actual bed for his room. His room. 

Tyson had changed dramatically. He spoke with better vocabulary and it was easier to understand him, but he still almost reverted to baby talk if he was stressed. He could pick out colors and shapes and animals and he was excellent at math. Not like, he’s got his addition down but also multiplication and division. Not very far, but he can get up to seven with multiplying and three with dividing. He wasn’t as strong with reading or writing or social skills as she would have hoped, but he was excelling in a way she could understand. Math was something he was going to use for projects so it made more sense. Usually cyclopes don’t have to learn to read. 

“You only have to go for a half day because you’re in kindergarten. But I have to go for a full day cause I’m in first grade. Next year you’ll be in first grade and I’ll see you more cause we’ll be in the same part of school and we can eat together.” Percy was also different. By having to explain things to Tyson and having someone to talk to, he was more open about stuff and understood things a little faster. He wasn’t having as much trouble at school with his ADHD because Tyson made him toys to play with. Not anything special, like rubber band balls, a box with different materials to touch. Still, he did tend to loose them and throw them around with his friends. “You get to leave class when we have lunch so you can come meet my friends before Mom comes to pick you up.” 

“Okay!” Tyson was playing with his own toy, something Sally had gotten him when she had some money from a good week. “Is my teacher nice? Do you think I’ll make any friends?” She reassured him again that his teacher was nice and tried to remind him not everyone made friends on the first day. When she finally had them out the door with their bags, their food and their jackets, they were going to have to run. 

“Okay, so Mrs. Babbly is going to take you boys to school with the other kids. Be polite and if Sam tries to hit you you can tell Mrs. Babbly. It’s not tattle taling, never let anyone try and guilt you into not saying anything when they hurt you. Okay?” After Percy came home with a black eye because some kid threw a block at him and he didn’t say anything, she was done with that word. So she went to the teacher, had Percy explain to him what happened and the girl’s parents came and they had a conversation. Percy and Daisy are still friends, he helps with her spasms. His new friend knew full well what his ADHD really was and whenever she had something in her hands when it happened, he was always there to catch it and give it back to her. 

* * *

When she went to pick up Tyson she was confused to find a red faced woman in business attire standing with a man who looked familiar for some reason holding a child while Tyson just stared at the floor. “Tyson, did something happen?” 

Tyson ran over to her and gave her a hug before pulling away. She was on her knees so she could look him in the eye, something that helped keep him calm. “I like my teacher. She’s really nice and she said we could make colored cookies because someone tried to make fun of the ones you made me. I was saying goodbye to my friend when his mom came and I don’t know what I did wrong.” 

The red faced woman looked ready to go on a tangent but the man next to her with the child cleared his throat. “This is Audrey. I’m Paul. My sister doesn’t like when people call Audrey a guy because he’s female. Audrey asked to be a guy.” 

“You said we can be anything we want to be so why can’t Audrey be a guy if he wants to? I wanted to go to school so I got to go to school. I don’t understand.”  _ Oh dear lord did she love her boys. _ “Mr. Paul is nice, you two should be friends too.” 

She just kind of stared at him for a second before taking a deep breath. “Tyson, I’m going to explain what happens later but for right now I need you to be quiet so I can talk.” He nodded and grabbed her hand while Sally rose up on her heels; turning her expression into something less welcoming. “Thank you for explaining Paul, I now understand what’s happening here.” She turned to the red faced woman slowly, hoping it was taken less of nerves and seen more for containing her emotions. “Please don’t ever yell or get upset at my son for what information he does or does not know. Audrey said he was a guy so Tyson knows him as a guy. If you want to hate that part of your child, that is not something you should take out on mine.” Her tone wasn’t angry yet.

“Your child, huh? Where do you find him?” By then, kids had either left to go meet their parents outside or were filling out to hang with their friends. All that was left was the five of them and the teacher. “Didn’t you teach him manners?” Paul, to his credit looked upset by her behavior and started telling her they had to leave. “No, I want her to answer me.” 

Sally turned to Paul and asked him if he was alright taking Tyson and Audrey to wait in the lobby. When he seemed apprehensive, she turned to the teacher. “Hi, I don’t know if you remember me from last year but I’m Percy and Tyson’s mom. Do you mind taking him to wait in the lobby?” When Mrs. Morley said she didn’t and disappeared out the door trailing the two kids, Sally turned her eyes to the woman whose name she still didn’t know. “I bet you got all the lead roles in your drama classes.” She crossed her arms, pure motherly rage boiling underneath her skin. He said the camp would fear Percy because of his parentage, but it wasn’t his father they would have to worry about. “Tyson knows to say please, thank you, hold doors and to respect people. Yes, I did teach him manners. Did someone forget to teach you?” 

You don’t need to know how the rest of that went, but basically “neither” of them were allowed to pick up the boys anymore. Sally had to wait in the lobby because Mrs. Morley knew she had Percy too. 

* * *

At home after a long conversation with Tyson, Sally finally asked Percy how his day went. She smiled as he explained their cubbies and the way classes work because he has “so many teachers now!” He made a lot of new friends and was kind of sad because certain kids were in different classes so he didn’t get to see them as much. “But I see some of them at lunch too!” At least one of them had a good day. 


	4. What if, Thalia Attacked Tyson?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was supposed to be a good day, one where her sons would get to play in the sunshine and their lives would finally be okay. But then something terrible happened, and the worst part was that Sally couldn't even blame the poor girl.

Traditions were important to the boys, and to Sally too if she really thought about it, so Montauk was something that Percy was extremely excited to share with Tyson. They went during the summer between Tyson’s kindergarten and first grade year to celebrate them staying at one school the whole time. “The kids at school aren’t celebrating, is that because Percy’s my brother and Percy  _ always _ gets in trouble?” 

She laughed at their faces in the back seat, giving them a look as they almost started fighting. “Boys.” They quieted down and went back to playing as she drove, giving her time to reflect on how much had changed. Sally had friends her age instead of just her neighbors, like Paul who she had gotten to know during playdates and school events with Audrey. She was excited to go to school events instead of dreading them because she knew people there, she had things to share and didn’t feel judged for being the mom of  _ that new kid _ . That’s not to say she liked everyone, Valerie was way too strict on her kids and was super rude about her being a single mom. Like her and her girlfriend were perfect parents...

“No one else likes to go to this beach ‘cause it’s not pretty but I like it and there are pretty ladies in the water that bring me seashells that are really really big and so much better than the ones that other kids bring back!”  _ Pretty ladies in the water, I’m going to kill him if he sent those Oceanids to check in on him.  _ “We can go swimming once we help Mom clean up!” 

Which they did. They brought her so many shells and seaweed, she got the most brilliant idea she’d had in a long time...she got petty. She recreated something he had done to try and impress her once when they were dating, which went horribly wrong as she couldn’t read it. But he’d be able to read this, very clearly. And Sally didn’t think he’d live it down with either Amphitrite or his brothers.  _ Quite the release but I missed the catch, fish breath! _ She wrote it in the collection of shells they had collected over the course of six years, having a special spot in the cabin to keep them safe that Percy had picked out. 

Sally knew when the tide washed up far enough to rearrange them into something unreadable that she had caught his attention. The boys were getting ready for bed but she knew they were sneaking glances out of the windows because of their confusion over her writing. “You really had to do that?” There he was, wearing his cargo shorts and button ups with the sleeves rolled up. “You know I’m not going to...” 

She started walking to the cabin determinedly, motioning for the boys to come out and meet her on the deck. She stood with her hands on their shoulders, facing a stunned to silence Poseidon. “These are your boys. This is Percy and this is Tyson. You want to check on them, you visit. You don’t send someone to do it for you.” 

“That’s Daddy? Can we go say hi?’ Tyson looked nervous but Percy grabbed his hand and marched forward when Sally nodded. “Are you friends with the ocean ladies? Why don’t you live with mom like other Daddies? Why did you abandon Tyson?” He went from excited to angry in about five seconds. Seeing him next to Poseidon, she wondered how blind the gods had to be to have missed him. 

She watched Poseidon try to phrase an excuse before he sat down in the sand and said, “I’m not like other Dads. I didn’t mean to abandon Tyson but I guess I did abandon you.” And they talked. And she watched as he explained who he was and who Tyson was. “I’ll be back tomorrow so I can show you the water. But I can’t always be here so I’m going to need you to remember today. Okay?” 

Percy hugged him tightly and Tyson took his other side, the expression on Poseidon’s face almost made the fear of Zeus go away. They were just so cute with him. “Okay. I’m glad Mommy made you get your shit together.” 

“PERCY! Where did you learn that word?” Yes, he was very much his father's son. 

* * *

Another tradition was going to the park. When they got back from that trip, it was the first thing her kids wanted to do. Those boys had tasted fresh air and they were very clearly itching to get back to freedom. “Come on, come on! I wanna go see the pond!” Percy was dragging his mom towards the water while Tyson was looking at the trees curiously. She should have watched him better. 

“Mom, can I go look at the trees?” Sally nodded without looking where he was pointing, trying to keep Percy from jumping in the pond to see if he could breathe here too. His father was going to be the death of her. “I’ll stay in sight!” 

“Thank you baby!” She had finally convinced Percy that his dad was right when he said he wasn’t supposed to use his powers so much when she heard the scream. Screaming when you have children is completely normal, usually it’s them being unable to control their excitement and their volume. But this scream made her blood run cold and her limbs work without her conscious direction; she was spun around with Percy behind her and her eyes locking in on where it came from before a second passed. 

Right in front of the tree line, Tyson was frozen in fear and complete shock, his eye red and filling with tears. The last time he was this terrified, it was all those years ago when she found him on the streets and Percy was trying to defend him from a shopkeeper with a baseball bat and no kindness. “Mommy?” 

The girl in front of him was small, angry and looked so much like her father. And she had a sword pressed against her son’s neck, ready to kill. But clearly his size, what he said and the fact that Percy and Sally were human was confusing her enough that she wasn’t going to hurt him. Yet. 

“Tyson!” Percy surged forward away from his mom’s grip, anger swirling in his eyes as the pond started turning and reacting to his emotions. “Step away from my brother.” The water started to rise and freeze into a point sharper than one of her kitchen knives. 

“Brother?” She was so surprised by not only the water and but the way he acted, her sword dropped enough for Tyson to sprint over to Sally, wrapping his arms tightly around her leg. “Do you know what he is? Do you even know what you’re...?” She reeled back from the smack as she was almost completely doused in pond water. “You twerp!”  _ Three children of the big three. What did I do to piss of the fates this time?  _

“You attacked Tyson! You do not mess with the Jacksons!” Percy wouldn’t let his mom pull him back, only wrenching out of her grasp and moving closer to the girl. “Go away.” Sally almost stopped her as she seemed to debate it and turn to go, wanting to help her or at least apologize for this but she was gone before Sally could do anything. Besides, Percy collapsed as soon as she was gone, all of the water returning to the pond in its liquid state.

* * *

Sally was making dinner when they asked the question she wasn’t prepared to answer. “Why did that girl have a sword and try to hurt us with it?” She almost poured boiling water all over herself from sheer shock; but she quickly composed herself and put the pot down in the sink. 

The boys were kicking their feet in their chairs while they stared at her, trying to understand but drawing a blank. “You know what your Dad said about Tyson, and what he said about Percy.” They both nodded, confused on what this had to do with how their father was a god and Tyson’s mom was mean. She kneeled down to look them in the eyes. “Well, she was like Percy. But she has a different Dad who isn’t as nice as yours. So she’s on her own and she’s scared. So when she saw Tyson, she reacted badly.” 

Tyson nodded like that made sense, he understood what he was and was starting to understand who the gods were, but Percy’s eyebrows scrunched in confusion again. “Who’s her dad?”  _ Oh gods this is going to be a long conversation. _ Sally tried to come up with a way to explain everything better, but ended up telling him it was his dad’s brother. She watched his eyes go wide before he ran out of the room, shutting his door quietly. When he came back a few minutes later with his game boy, it was his mom’s turn to scrunch her eyebrows in confusion. “I used my powers on family. I’m in trouble, right?” Her sweet boys...


	5. What If, Thalia Got Injured?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sally never could turn down a stray, and at least this one was a demigod.

She thought that was the end of it, she was also kind of hoping that that was the end of it because her health was going to be worthless if she was ever that stressed again. Sally was in the middle of making lunch, humming softly. Percy and Tyson were out playing in the park across the street and would come back when they were hungry enough. When the door knob was jiggled and she could hear in appropriate cursing, she was expecting one of them to be injured from a fight or a fall. She was not prepared for them to be dragging a half dead version of the girl they’d seen a week prior into the apartment, claiming they found her at the park cold to the touch and unresponsive. “I think she got sick from when I splashed her cause she scared Tyson. It’s been cold and...she’s going to be okay, right Mom?” 

That’s how she found herself making chicken soup while telling the boys where all the extra blankets were. “Make sure she’s really warm baby, but don’t put anything over her face. She needs to breathe and can’t shove them off if she’s this cold.” Sally got some soup into the poor girl before remembering the ambrosia that Poseidon had provided for emergencies. She broke a square in half and forced her to chew it, scared she was hurting the girl’s jaw. Thankfully within a couple minutes, the preteen was was snoring away on the couch under three blankets with like ten different pillows that her sons had arranged around her.

“Okay. Did you go look for her to apologize?” Tyson nodded with a big smile before shrinking and explaining that he had smelled her when they got to the park. He remembered Sally not being happy about his nose when he first became part of the family, but it helped find Percy when he tried running away or disappeared a few times so she’d hoped he knew she wasn’t angry about it. 

“She family, she’s my cousin. And it’s my fault that she’s sick so I figured bringing her here would make her forgive me...” His lower lip stuck out and his eyes went wide, begging his mom to forgive him for everything. Sally had to look away.  _ That boy and his seal pup eyes.... _

* * *

When the girl woke up, Sally was immediately there with some hot chocolate. “I know it’s summer time, but you did almost die from a bad cold so I’d say you deserve it.” She gave the girl her best smile before putting it down on the coffee table when she didn’t take it. “My name’s Sally Jackson. Do you remember me and my boys from the park?” The girl was looking at her like she was crazy, before her eyes went wide and she started feeling around for a weapon as the image of Tyson probably came back. “I’m mortal and won’t be affected by whatever it is you’re using now. You can use the mug but it would be a waste of good hot chocolate.” 

“Mom, is she awa...?” Percy walked in to see her sitting up and beamed, proud to see his efforts to keep her alive were working. “Hi! I’m your cousin on the godly side. Tyson is my half brother which is why you’re scared of him, but it’s okay because Mom adopted him and he eats soup and peanut butter sandwiches.” 

After getting her name, Thalia, and convincing her that they weren’t going to hurt her, she chugged the drink. “So let me get this right. He’s you know who’s kid,” she pointed at Tyson lazily before waving at Percy, most likely knowing full well pointing was rude, “and he’s your birth son. You found a baby cyclops on the street that he befriended and then  _ adopted _ it. Because he’s raised by you, he’s not going to attack and try to eat me?” 

“You smell like the toaster when Percy tries to use it. Not very tasty.” Maybe it was the sheer shock or the weirdness of the situation, but Thalia laughed. “Are you okay?” She shook her head and promptly passed out again, her head hitting one of the many pillows with a  _ thud _ .

* * *

When Thalia was back to good health after a week or so, she said she wanted to leave. “I need to get back to my hideouts to make sure no one’s touched them or moved in.” She paused as she looked at the Jackson’s in a sort of surprised affection. “I’ll visit. It’s nice to have an Aunt who isn’t trying to kill me.” She seemed hesitant to show any sort of physical affection towards them but when they all hugged her tightly, she collapsed into it. She was eleven and hadn’t been loved since she was little. She needed it, she needed them. 

She kept her promise of visiting, though it was never scheduled and almost always unannounced but for an, “Aunt Sally, I’m home! And damn it I’m starving!” Working on her language for both her sons and Thalia’s benefit was something they quickly started doing, no swears in Greek or otherwise, no “damns” or “my gods”. Though Thalia loved to tease her when she herself screwed up, though none of those times were around her sons. 

And over time, Thalia warmed up to Tyson and started treating him as a little brother. Percy was someone she was constantly getting annoyed by and was teasing, but they loved each other to death and he always tackled her when she appeared. “Thals!” 

“Baby!” She would swing him around, then grab Tyson into a hug too. Their mom was deemed “Aunt Sally!” and never again did her niece feel uncertain about dropping by or just randomly hugging her aunt. Eventually, whenever they were in public with her it was decided that she could never let go of her cousin’s hands. The boys complained about how they were old enough to walk by themselves but they loved the attention, they thought Thalia was the coolest thing since video games. When she did this though and the tension appeared in the girl’s eyes as they searched through crowds, Sally knew there was something she wasn’t being told about why she was so scared of losing them. 

Thalia told them about the son of Hermes she ran into and she explained the strange feeling she got from him, but in a good way. “He’s such a pain in my butt,” Sally appreciated her sensoring, “and he never listens to me. I mean he is really good at lockpicking and he makes really funny jokes to distract people...But it sometimes distracts me!” It was a source of teasing from the boys as Sally slyly pointed out how he must have a crush on her or even vise versa. Thalia denied it at all costs, but blushed darkly whenever they said his name. 

And then she told her family about the daughter of Athena with the princess curls and the sass that wouldn’t die. “That girl needs a filter on that mouth or she’s going to get us arrested! A police officer asked why we weren’t in school and she just goes, ‘There’s this thing called parent teacher conferences, I’m not surprised you haven’t heard of one.’ Of course Luke high fived her  _ while still in view of the officer _ . At the very least I did it when we were out of sight.” Her aunt just put her head in her hands and laughed, trying to decide who was the worst influence...and who exactly was getting influenced.

* * *

It had been over a year since the boys had found her, leaning closer to two. The twelve year old that had crashed into their lives had gone from shy and scared, to the punk she was that day, wearing the leather jacket Sally had given her everyday. “You know it’s getting colder, you need a new jacket.” She gave her aunt a budget and said she wasn’t allowed to spend past a certain amount on her, but this was something she wasn’t allowed to argue with. Sally went through her closet to find some things she didn’t wear anymore, pulling out her worn leather jacket with the fleece lining. “It’ll keep someone warm, better be you and not some bum.” She beamed even as the boys made comments about how it didn’t matter either way, there was always going to be one wearing it. Thalia had snapped at them to leave her alone, storming out of the room only to smirk proudly as they came to apologize. When she finally tried it on was too big for her, but that just made it easier to snuggle into it.

It was her statement piece, the one that everyone recognized her for. Every place she went she got a pin to add to her jacket, making it easy to remember stories for the boys to hear and to make it  _ her’s _ . “Where did you get this one?” was something she was asked at least ten times every visit, but Sally knew the girl was just as excited to talk about as they were to listen. 

Thalia looked at the one on the hem of her jacket that Tyson was poking, smiling at his curiosity. It had a weirdly colored chicken on it, but Percy seemed to love it. Of course the reason for it being his favorite was the color.... “We crashed a college tour so I got a pin. We were in Delaware and this is their mascot.” She looked up at Sally and something passed between them, something sad. She wasn’t going to go to college, she wasn’t even going to have the opportunity to. She knew about the prophecy and she didn’t think it was worth it, she wouldn’t even get to be an upperclassman so what was the point? “If I make it to my drivers test, I’ll think about the rest of my life.” 

Sally tried to get her to go to Camp Half-Blood, to at least train for her fight and be safe until then, but she said she was good to wait a little while longer so her aunt decided not to push her. “If you really want to keep running around with your friends, I can’t make that choice for you.” There was nothing she wouldn’t do to keep her kids from harm, but even though Thalia was barely thirteen...she didn’t live with them, this was her life to live. 

Thalia started crying then, curling up next to her on the couch as soon as there was an offered spot. It was like when the kids were younger and would get scared of something, there was nothing that they wanted more than to be next to her. “Mom never gave me a choice. I don’t get a choice in this prophecy. I don’t want to die, Aunt Sally. I don’t want to leave you all...”

“Honey, you never leave the hearts of the ones you love and all that cheesy shit.” The girl laughed and hiccuped through her tears, wiping them with the palms of her hands. “You always have a choice with us, except whether we love you or not. I don’t think even their father could get them to stop adoring you.” So Sally let her run off that night with as much money as she could give, some blankets and a burden off the kid’s shoulders. She would come to regret the decision of letting her baby girl go that day.


	6. What If, Thalia Disappeared?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sally always knew that her children were in danger because of their parentage. But she had convinced herself nothing bad would happen until they were ready for camp, and even then they would be trained to protect themselves. She was wrong.

Sally knew something was wrong as soon as Thalia disappeared into the busy street, something just settled in her stomach and screamed at her to call back the girl with electricity in her veins. Electrocution would be better than whatever her instincts were warning her about. A week later she got an Iris message from Kentucky with her niece updating her on the adventures the three of them had been having. She wasn’t going to be home for a while, there were too many monsters. Visiting with Tyson helped, but with three of them and how powerful Thalia was becoming, it wasn’t enough to last until the next time she appeared on their doorstep. “Stay safe, okay baby?” 

“You know I can’t promise that. But I do promise to be in one piece when I visit again!” Thalia looked over her shoulder and her lower lip stuck out slightly, Sally immediately knew their time was coming to an end. “I love all three of you and I can’t wait to see you all again.” 

“We love you too, I’ll tell the boys you called when they get home from school.” She watched as the girl sighed and went to swipe through the image, but not before a blonde boy with something in his hands popped into the room. Thalia automatically blushed and ended up just waving blindly to end the call; leaving her aunt to laugh at the obvious crush she had on him. If that was the worst thing to happen to them, Sally would survive to her next paycheck. 

* * *

With Percy playing basketball and Tyson trying a bunch of different stuff, she was quickly distracted from her worries about her other kid. “Hey, if I see one more thing flying I’m grounding all of you!” She would have glared but looking at six and eight year olds like that would have gotten a different, undesired effect. 

Tyson put down the paper airplane; I mean an actual looks like an airplane and flies farther not the triangle thing, he was about to throw. He tried to come up with his best pout, upset that he was caught. “Come on mom, you know I won’t break anything!” No matter how right he was, it didn’t matter. Like how does an almost seven year old make toys for his friends and then get his brother to  _ sell _ them? He is already amazing at math and apparently physics and...Off topic. 

“You won’t break anything but your brother tends to break the floor by breathing so projectiles are not going to be...” Sally froze as she noticed one of the kids Percy had invited over playing with something in the corner that she hadn’t seen in a long time. “Hayden, where did you get that?” She accepted the bow from him, waving her hand when they asked if they could go back to the airplanes. She moved to the kitchen and placed it on the counter, staring at it like it was some sort of bad omen from the gods. Maybe it was. How long had it been since Thalia was last here? How long had it been since Sally thought about where her niece was? 

* * *

It was right there, staring her in the face with blinking lights and a number written next to it that she swore she wouldn’t call until Percy was  _ at least _ twelve. But there she was, sitting on a bar stool and watching the phone change time because she was scared of what was going to happen when someone picked up the other line. She took a deep breath, hoping the extra air would give her a spine. “Sally, you can do this. Maybe they just don’t allow calling?” 

When the other line clicked, she wasn’t sure what she was expecting. Someone asking how she got the number, some fake name...What she definitely was  _ not _ expecting what she got. “Hello this is Chiron from Delphi Strawberries and Camp HB, how can I be of assistance?” 

If there was a time to back out, that would have been the moment. But she took another breath and but on a smile for her answering machine. “This is Sally Jackson, I’m calling to ask about some campers that might have crossed the border recently?” She wasn’t sure where this calmness was coming from, maybe it was just the numbing shock that had overcome her or maybe it was the fear...ever present, ever talking in the back of her thoughts. “I believe she was with a young girl named Annabeth and a boy named Luke? Her name was Thal...” 

A tired sigh on the other end of the line gave her hope that maybe her niece was there causing chaos and destroying cabins. Maybe it was the sigh of a man who about to ask advice on how to handle such a rambunctious child. “I wasn’t aware she had any relatives to contact.” Or not. “The other children made it over the border with little injury but Thalia wasn’t so lucky.”  _ No. No, no. She’s just in their hospital thing or she’s lost something but she’s going to be okay...She has to be okay.  _ “She never made it over the border. She saved their lives...” He went on to say how her body was turned to a tree by Zeus and there was now a border around camp, but it barely processed in her head. “...can I ask how you are related to the daughter of Zeus?” 

“Her name was Thalia Beryl Grace. And she’s my niece, more like a daughter.” Sally thanked him for the information he provided before he could respond, hanging up as soon as she finished talking. She ended up staring at the phone in her hand, the world freezing as his words finally came to realization in her head. Thalia had made it to camp. Thalia had died at camp. “She was my baby.” 

Percy walked into the room rubbing at his eyes and yawning, asking why his mom was crying. Apparently she had answered in her head because he walked over and gave her a big hug, burying his face in her clothes. “Is it because you saw my grades?” Sally gave a watery laugh and finally snapped out of her own head enough to hug him back. “They’re getting better.” 

“Baby, I’m not upset about your grades. I’m really proud of you.” And then it hit her, what it meant if Thalia was gone. Percy was the only child of the big three left alive. Percy was going to be the child of the prophecy. Percy was going to fight a war on his sixteenth birthday, he was going to  _ die _ . And she could do nothing to stop this either. 

* * *

“Okay, I know that you didn’t mean to flood the aquarium....” Percy got worse over time, he was so angry and tired all the time. Before Thalia had passed away, he was just hard to control. He was always wanting to go off and do something else all the time so deals were a thing and he wouldn’t listen to  _ most _ people, except maybe his family. But now he was frustrated and snapped at people when they were upset with him. Tyson shut down at school, he stopped participating in class and even clubs.  _ “You’re not my real mom!” _ wasn’t an insult towards Sally but himself, a reminder of the fact that he wasn’t not human. He wasn’t a demigod like his brother, his kind was what hunted his cousin down and slowed the satyr down enough that there were monsters waiting at the border. Both of her boys hated themselves and almost everything around them. 

Percy just glared into the corner of the car when she asked about what happened in e aquarium and ignored the rest of the world, not caring that Sally was trying to help him. When she was unlocking the door, she heard him talk for the first time that day. “They weren’t happy there, they felt trapped and scared.” He brushed past her to go into his room, closing the door softly. At least he wasn’t mad at her, everyone else was different. 

Tyson was curled up in the couch with some soup and toast, his nose a dark red as the rest of his face stood out in a stark white contrast. “Hi..mom. How’s Percy?” His voice croaked, but it wasn’t as bad as it was during the morning. The medication and soup seemed to have helped as best as she could have hoped, thankful for having the money to get health insurance. When Percy was younger, she would have to scramble for meds and be neighbors for loans. There were a few times she truthfully thought he would die. And now, all because of Tyson...her world was so different. 

“He’s doing okay, we’re going to be looking at new schools over the summer. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find a good fit this year.” Sally sat down on the couch next to him and smiled as he snuggled into her side, at least one of her boys wasn’t in the “mom isn’t cool” phase. “So how are you doing? Do you feel any better?” No matter how angry or reserved he was to other people, he always talked to her. 

Tyson groaned dramatically and buried his face into the couch behind them. “I’m dying mom, my throat is on fire and the inside of my body isn’t fireproof!”  _ Yup. I am raising boys, _ her head was screaming. “Is Paul coming by any time soon? Maybe he can bore me to sleep with one of his plays..” Paul was a new thing, an old friend. They had run into each other at an English class and became good friends again, they’d lost contact after the first time the boys had to switch schools. He wasn’t a romantic partner in her life but he was like a dad to the boys, they really liked him. And just maybe, she liked him too.


	7. What If, Tyson Knew?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy was twelve years old when he was sent to Yancy Academy, unfortunately without his younger brother Tyson. He survived mostly unnoticed until a school trip revealed him as a demigod to his demon math teacher. If that wasn't bad enough, there were three other people who seemed to know what happened.

I wasn’t an idiot, contrary to popular belief. I knew that Nancy was hurting Grover to get to me because she wanted a fight. She wanted the  _ attention _ because she didn’t get enough of it from everyone else, so by fighting with her I would give her what she wanted. Even trying to protect him would give her what she wanted, she purposefully made her sandwiches out of the weirdest and grossest combinations to hurl at kids. Today it was ketchup and peanut butter. “I’m going to kill her if I ever get the chance, Grover I swear to the gods...” 

Grover tensed as he heard me mention the gods as he always did though I had no idea why, he was a mortal and as far as I could tell a complete atheist. He didn’t make that face whenever someone else talked about them...“You’ll get in even more trouble than you already have, you need to relax. Besides, I like peanut butter.” He tried to smile but it was hard to be happy with sandwiches in your hair.

I was quiet the entire trip to the museum as Grover begged me not to start any fights. I was quiet when Nancy made inappropriate jokes about the art in the Greek Exhibit, I answered Mr. Brunner’s question when he asked and I stayed quiet as everyone else gagged over the mustard and wine comment. I was quiet when we went out to eat on the steps even though it was hot and no one wanted to be outside, I was quiet when Nancy started calling insults our way. But when she dumped her lunch in Grover’s lap, I had to keep my breathing steady. I glared at her when she made some comment over how I was too scared to fight for him, a coward. “You’re the one who’s a coward, the only reason you target me is because you know you won’t get in trouble. Why don’t you pick on someone else and see where that gets you?” 

Nancy snarled at me in anger even though her and her friends knew I was right, the other kids snickering when they say the redness in her cheeks like she’d been slapped. “Is that right? You’re the one who's scared of getting in trouble then, not standing up for your weirdo cripple pet.” 

My therapist for anger management said to count to ten. My mom told me to think about how my reaction would reflect on Tyson, what it would teach him. But none of that mattered as a familiar feeling in my gut appeared, the fountain we were sitting on suddenly breaking. A wave of water drizzled over Grover and I while dousing the girls next to us, a smirk appearing on my lips as they screamed in annoyance and shock. I could feel Mrs. Dodds eyes on me, narrowing in suspicion as if I could have had anything to do with the random breaking of the pipe that pumped water out of the top so it would splash the people pissing me off. I didn’t understand how she could  _ possibly _ think that. 

“Perseus Jackson, come with me.” It was almost funny to see confusion in her eyes, as she moved up the steps at a slow pace while I followed behind her. She might be an old woman but years with Tyson steering me away from children, old people with walkers and that one guy in a wheelchair told me that no one was over suspicion. I walked with her as slowly as possible, ignoring her snaps to keep up. I had seen the worried glance Grover sent Mr. Brunner and I just hoped that they figured it out soon enough if she really was a monster. She disappeared into one of the exhibits, her patience running thin as she finally paced around me. “You have been an exceeding pain in my side, Perseus Jackson. You hid yourself well when you first came to school, it took months to track you down. But you forget that when you use your powers...your scent is stronger. And just so obvious.” 

I wanted to make some snarky comment about how her old age must be making her blind, or how maybe she was just stupid...but I knew Grover at least was going to be looking for me and I couldn’t admit to knowing what I was. “Mrs, I have no idea what you’re talking about. I thought this was about Nancy.” 

She growled low in her throat as her eyes turned red, giving me only a second of warning before she dropped the mist surrounding her to reveal just who she was. I was screwed, no matter what had been taught to me or what I’d practiced with Tyson. They dehumidified the air, it was freezing in this area so I wasn’t sweating and there were no water fountains close to this area. I had nothing. And yes, I did mention sweating because in an emergency you use whatever the hell you got. “You will die today, son of the sea god. I will relish in the feeling of your blood, not even telling me where it is will save you.” She attacked, diving and slashing with her claws, screeching as she went. My reflexes kicked into gear just in time to keep my head from having a rough breakup with my body. 

“What ho, Percy!” I blindly grabbed whatever Mr. Brunner threw at me, swinging the sword into a defensive position out of instinct. I had never held a sword in my life, Mom wasn’t too big on weapons and Thalia was a terrible sword fighter, but this one felt like it was made for me. A deadly extension of my arm. 

I don’t know how she got so stupid, but at the sight of the blade she hesitated. That was all I needed, swinging my sword in a deadly arch over her body. She howled angrily as her body turned to dust, the air temperature dropping again. I was alone with a pen and the feeling of her eyes on me, like her ghost was still trying to kill me.  _ That did just happen, right? _ I wandered back outside to give Mr. Brunner back his pen, hoping he would tell me I could leave school now. He simply told me to bring my own writing utensils next time. Nancy asked about some teacher I didn’t know, the mist working it’s magic. I almost asked who she was, but Grover looked ready to die he was so nervous. So I kept my mouth shut. I was getting really good at that. 

* * *

I had dealt with monsters before, or at the very least I had seen Thalia deal with them, and felt the fear of seeing a claw get too close or teeth grazing skin just before the monster disappeared. But fighting Mrs. Dodds left me with the lingering fear I couldn’t shake, nightmares that left me sitting up in my bed holding back screams as cold sweat dampened the sheets. That wasn’t helping my mood with how crazy the weather was being, “Grover, get out!” I had to drag him out of the room at one point when our windows blew out from the wind, a few days later there was the biggest tornado ever seen in the Hudson Valley that touched down only fifty miles away from our school. “Grover, it’s like these storms have a personal vendetta against our school.” 

“That’s completely and utterly ridiculous, you know that’s the silliest thing I’ve ever heard.” Grover laughed nervously before immediately changing the topic, like he knew something I didn’t, about these storms. It wasn’t my dad, I knew that much. Maybe. 

At that point my grades had slipped from barely passing to literally failing, I stopped avoiding fights with Nancy and I was almost always went out into the hallway. Between the nightmares, the distance from Tyson and my mom...I was an irritable mess most of the time. I didn’t think my dad would be upset with me for that. The hypocrite, if he was. But the one thing I think he would have laughed with me, was when my teacher Mr. Nicoll was yelling about being lazy and I called him an old sot, Thalia taught me that one. It meant old drunk. Though I was right and he ended up getting fired later for it, it was still disrespectful to a teacher so they sent a letter to mom saying I was not invited back next year. I missed mom, I missed Tyson and that was just fine with me. 

But when school started coming to a close, I realized there were somethings about Yancy that I would miss. Grover. How he would make funny jokes how and even with screwed up legs he would fight someone over enchiladas. How he didn’t question my nightmares, simply woke me from them when he could and brought me water from the tap. I would miss Mr. Brunner and his sword play in class...his sword from class. 

“Holy shit.” When I was sent into the hallway, I just slid down the wall as how I defeated Mrs. Dodds came back to me. “The sword is the one he uses in class...” I wasn’t imagining that day, it wasn’t just some weird demigod dream like Thalia had warned about. It was real, I had picked it up once in class and I don’t know how I didn’t recognize how right it felt. I decided I would talk to Mr. Brunner after exams. 

* * *

That talk never happened. I ended up walking down to the faculty offices to talk to him about the test and ask some questions about it. I was ready to at the very least apologize for the grade he was going to have to give him, was there such a thing as an F-? I was almost to the door handle when I heard Grover speaking inside. “...worried about Percy, sir. The nightmares are getting worse...” I moved closer. “...alone this summer. I mean a Kindly One in the school!”  _ Grover _ knew about monsters and he was talking to  _ Mr. Brunner  _ about it? 

Mr. Brunner made some comment about how rushing me was a bad idea and I almost wanted Grover to make a joke about my maturity. “The summer solstice deadline will have to be resolved without him. I know you are worried for your friend, but the Mist over the staff and students will have to be enough to convince him she was just his imagination.” 

Grover made a choking noise as he reminded Mr. Brunner of his duties, whatever that meant. “And I can’t fail Percy, sir. I keep getting attached and I can’t lose him, not another one.” My mind was racing as I tried to process what he was saying, my brain drawing on the little information Thalia and my mom had told me. They said too much would make my scent too strong to mask at school, but they told me that there was a camp and that beings called Satyrs collected demigods. Beings with horns, wispy beards and..goat legs. Hidden by a limp. 

“Now it’s just worrying about keeping Percy alive until next fall...” It was too much. The Latin book I carried with me slipped from my fingers, hitting the floor with a thud. I didn’t stick around to see Mr. Brunner look around the hallway for me, I suspected he wasn’t human. Neither of them were and neither was I for that matter. Not all the way. 

Grover came into the dorm soon after I returned and I tried to make it look like I’d been there all night, a tired expression and a weary smile. “You look awful, are you okay?” I wasn’t sure if I even knew the  _ truthful _ answer. 

* * *

The ride home on the Greyhound was stressful as Grover kept looking around like he expected another Kindly One to appear out of nowhere and attack us, which wasn’t that far off if I was right. “What’s happening on the summer solstice?” I didn’t mean to ask, but it was the one thing I didn’t understand from eavesdropping on them. 

He freaked out on me, asking how I knew about that. I confessed to my crimes and he just looked more nervous than before. He finally just sighed and pulled out a card that looked like the one next to the phone in my apartment, except at the top it said, “ **Grover Underwood, Keeper** ” He claimed it was his summer address which made me want to laugh, if not for him being ignorant of my knowledge. 

Before I could even decide what to say next, the bus broke down leaving us to scramble out of the hot black smoke smelling of rotten eggs. When I could finally see, I saw that we were on a stretch of country road that no one would bother to notice unless they, you know,  _ broke down _ . But somehow there was an old-fashioned fruit stand with things on sale that made my mouth water, I couldn’t understand how they had no customers. There was just three ladies knitting a giant sock made of electric blue yarn, my heart tugging as I realized they were the same color as Thalia’s eyes before a storm. The ladies were ancient, something that made me weary of who exactly they were. It wasn’t helping that they were looking directly at me. “G-man, is this bad?” 

“They aren’t looking at you, please tell me they aren’t looking you. It’s only bad if they’re looking at you.” He was shaking like a leaf in a tornado, which we had seen on the local news. He peeked only to see the middle lady pull out a huge pair of scissors-gold and silver like a fancy pair of shears. “We’re getting on the bus.” 

I would have argued about the heat but he was trying to pry open the doors, grabbing the driver's seat to lean on just as they cut the yarn. I could hear it over four lanes of traffic and I suddenly felt like I was in danger. I scrambled onto the bus after Grover, just as the driver yanked out a piece of metal and started the bus again. 

“This isn’t happening.” I wish. Grover looked as terrible as I felt, shivering as if all his muscles were spasming at once. “Tell me what you saw, Percy. I need you to tell me what you saw. Even if it was nothing.” 

There was a part of me that wanted to lie to him, but there was a larger part that was screaming  _ DANGER! DANGER! _ and was overriding any ability to lie. “There were three old ladies knitting a giant sock by the fruit stand. They finished knitting and so the one in the middle cut the yarn.” 

He made some gestures with his fingers that I didn’t understand, taking a slow shay breath. “This is not happening, I don’t want this to be like last time.” He just kept muttering about last time until he finally paused to make sure I would wait for him to walk with me home. 

“Grover...does this mean someone is going to die?” I needed him to say no, but he just muttered something about sixth grade and looked at me mournfully. 

* * *

I ditched Grover as soon as he disappeared to go to the bathroom. I really was going to let him walk me but if I showed up at our apartment with a terrified kid muttering about death while I was looking like a panicked idiot...Mom would immediately start crying and I would have to tell her about what happened at school which would result in more crying. I just hailed a taxi as quickly as possible, using what little money I had to pay the driver. We’d moved from our place on East One-hundred-and-fourth and first a few years after we took in Tyson because Mom had gotten a big bonus with how well her books were selling. 

Speaking of Mom, as soon as I opened the door to our apartment she was there to squeeze me into a hug. “Percy, I can’t believe it. You’ve grown since Christmas!” She smirked like she knew something I didn’t as she pulled me into my room after shutting the door, pointing to the bed where a bag of blue candies were waiting. “From that shop I used to work at, all your favourites.” 

I hugged her tightly before almost diving on the bed to devour the bag. We sat on the edge of the bed together as she asked me to tell her everything I couldn’t fit in my letters, how Grover was and all that. She didn’t mention my expulsion as always, all she wanted to know was if her baby was okay. I told her she was smothering me and called for Tyson to save me, but I was really glad to see her. I put the best spin on Yancy as I had any other school, saying I had almost made it the whole year and I’d done well in Latin...Everything was great up until that trip to the museum... 

“Is that where you got attacked?” Tyson was glaring at me from the doorway, his nostrils flared from the scent of something evil hitting him. He always said he could still smell them months later, but I was hoping this would have been long enough he wouldn’t have noticed. “Percy, you still smell like her. Which means you were close enough when she died that you got dust on you and if you were...” 

“Your nose is screwed. I’m fine, I promise. Are we still planning on going to Montauk?” I tried to change the topic as stealthily as possible but now my mom’s eyes were on me. She knew I wasn’t telling her something, something important. “Mom...” 

She moved away from me so she could grab my chin and look me in the eye. “Perseus Jackson, you tell me what happened on that museum trip and anything else. I won’t even consider taking you two to Montauk if you don’t.” So I told her. I told her about the Kindly One, about how Grover seemed to know something I didn’t. I told her about what I heard when I eavesdropped on Mr. Brunner and Grover, my suspicions on who they were. I told her about the three old ladies by the fruit stand. I told her everything. “Oh gods Percy.” She was crying but not as hard as I thought she would have, she wiped them away with her palms and glared at the ceiling. “You two couldn’t just let him have one more year!” She took a deep, shaky breath as she prepared herself. “Grover was a satyr sent to protect you from the camp. I don’t know who Mr. Brunner was, but I suspect he was sent from camp as well. Which means, it’s time for you to go.” 

Tyson and I stared at her in differing degrees of shock. Whatever I thought was going to happen when I told her, it wasn’t this. I was unprepared for her to know about what was happening and to be ready to send me away. “Only for the summer right?” Tyson’s voice was cracking from fear, he could barely handle not seeing me during the school year but if I was gone during the summer too...

I dragged him to sit next to me on the bed, ruffling his hair and forcing a smile. “You know you’re mom’s favourite anyway, just don’t turn into a bratty only child on me. Okay?” Maybe it was the wrong thing to say, or the right thing. But suddenly he was crying too, hiding his face in my shoulder as he tried to gain control. I watched as mom started to pack for me while I tried to get Tyson to move before he suffocated. “I’m going to be fine. I promise.” 

“You suck at keeping promises. Just don’t suck with this one, okay?” Tyson wiped at his face blindly, hiccuping. Mom had made the comment that  _ I’d _ grown since Christmas, but Tyson was a never ending growth spurt. He was a year younger but he was a head taller than me, his shaggy hair pulled into a ponytail that he would refuse to let mom cut until the end of the summer. I was missing him growing up, I was missing having a brother. 

Just as mom finished throwing together a bag for me, the door slammed open. “Sally! Please tell me you’re still here and Percy hasn’t convinced you to leave yet.” Grover appeared in the doorway, sighing in relief before glaring at me. “If you ever ditch me again, I will kill you.” Though I had my suspicions, it was strange to see him without pants on to reveal his fur and hooves. “We need to go. Now.” 

“No one is going anywhere.” Everyone was so worried about saving me from monsters, but Grover seemed to have forgotten to shut the door. So the worst of the worst slurred into the hallway. “Sally, we have to talk.” Gabe Ugliano was kicked out of his family for his inability to find a wife and requiring money for bail too many times, he’d been almost stalking us for the last two years. I looked at Tyson, a rock in the hurricane that was our apartment right then. A silent understanding passed through us. I would get to camp safe, Tyson would protect Mom from  _ him _ . 

I hugged him goodbye quickly, kissing Mom’s cheek and whispering, “There’s a mortal knife under my pillow if you need it. I love you.” I ran after Grover who looked like he was just told Christmas was coming early since we left the apartment. “Mom’s going to be okay, right?” He wouldn’t lie to me, so he just said nothing as we raced down to the bus we would be taking. 

* * *

When you wake up from basically a coma, it takes a second for the world to come back into focus and for your life to piece itself together. I don’t know how long I stared at Grover for but it must have gotten awkward enough for my brain to realize what was happening. “Who died?” I wasn’t sure if it was a poor attempt at a joke or if I was actually asking, but from his expression it was clearly the latter. 

“The camp got a call from your brother, he was so frantic it was almost impossible to understand him. But apparently there was a fight to get Gabe to leave and Tyson was thrown into a wall...he wasn’t able to stand fast enough to protect her. I’m so sorry Percy.” I knew what he was saying, I knew that he was trying to tell me that Gabe had killed my mom. That if I called like I immediately wanted too, I would get either an answering machine or a monotone Tyson that would soon fall into hysteria. “I’m okay, the tree is okay and I don’t know how but you killed that minitaur even after it threw us....” He handed me a shoe box, I didn’t need new shoes. I had the ones Mom packed for me. Mom made sure I got to say goodbye. 

I don’t remember much about what happened after that. I know I recognized Mr. Brunner,  _ she was right _ , and I met a god who looked like he was drunk just from the thought of a drink. I know there was a girl with princess curls and dangerous eyes, but she ran away for some reason. I remember Chiron, I learned that was his real name, was actually a centaur. It was too much and not enough all at once. At some point I learned Grover was in trouble, but all I could do was repeat, “It’s not his fault. They can’t blame him. It’s not his fault.” 

Chiron brought me to cabin eleven, dropped me off with Annabeth. “Percy Jackson, meet your cabin. You’ll be here until your parent is determined.” 


	8. What If, Percy Needed Her?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy always used to tell Thalia about what she had missed when she returned from her adventures, because maybe if she liked what she heard she would stay. But being at camp, the only family he has left is her tree...so he talks and he doesn't expect anyone to be listening.

The world was a little too much sometimes and no one knew that better than me, at least that was alive. In one day, I had lost the remainder of my family while also being thrust into a world I knew nothing about. Of course I knew who my dad was, but that wasn’t something I wanted to share with a camp that Thalia had grown up saying would struggle to accept us. I didn’t want to be a leader, someone who everyone looked to with awe because,  _ He’s the one from the prophecy _ and maybe just a little bit of fear. Because I wasn’t supposed to exist. I was settling into the Hermes cabin just fine, weary of Luke as he looked different than Thalia described and what few glimpses of him I’d seen. His smiles were fake and his scar twitched whenever someone spoke of the gods. But he was still the guy that Thalia blushed at the mention of, the one that Annabeth looked up to and the one that was trying his best to make sure I felt like I belonged at camp even though we all knew I was a fish out of water. 

“Annabeth convinced Luke that the Hermes cabin should join them for Capture the flag this Friday, I think it was after the bathroom incident on my first day. I did like you said and tried to avoid a fight but she was looking for one and...I dodged her grab so she went for Annabeth, I couldn’t let her do that. So I called her something I shouldn’t have and let her grab me.” I leaned back against the rough bark of her tree, sighing as the breeze danced with the grass so it would tickle my legs to force a smile. It was almost like Thalia was trying to say she approved. “She dragged me to the bathrooms, what a cliche right? and then when she got me in the stall...I’m sorry but I snapped, I used my powers. I flushed her and her stupid sisters right out of bathroom. But I promise I kept Annabeth dry, made it look less like I did because how is a new kid supposed to be able to control his powers?” 

The breeze dropped a few needles into his hair and one poked his cheek in a way that was so Thalia...It was almost like she was there ruffling his hair and poking his cheeks, “Smile more kiddo!” She would laugh as I stuck my tongue out to get her to stop, shoving my shoulder. 

“PERCY!” Grover called from the bottom of the hill, his body shrinking into a relaxed position when he saw where I was, sprinting up the hill to sit next to me. “I thought you ran away on me, Travis and Connor even tried to create a bet pool. Annabeth thought I was being stupid but…” He shook his head before seeming to realize where we were, what we were sitting next to. “No one comes to talk to her anymore, said it felt like she was glaring at them. I never really understood but I guess she wouldn’t have liked random people coming to dump their problems. Or to make out. Silena convinced her boyfriend once….they almost had to cut her hair to get the sap out.” 

I laughed as I pictured her coming out of the tree like a wood nymph, screaming about PDA and horny teenagers, swearing so much that Mom would have forced her to eat only broccoli for an entire day. Without cheese of course. For a second, the world felt like it was right. But then the horn blew and it was back to reality. 

The first few days I had settled into a routine. I didn’t have to think, I just repeated the day before. I took Ancient Greek lessons from Annabeth, learning about the gods and pretending I didn’t used to hear Thalia and Mom ranting about “Zeusie” in the kitchen, or muttering about how Persephone had the right idea when she ran away. I had to pretend that I didn’t remember telling Poseidon to get his shit together, all while calling him Dad. Pretending helped. “Percy, you have to pay attention. I know there’s a lot of shiny stuff around...” 

“I’m not a fish.” When she gave me a disbelieving look, I sucked in my cheeks and puckered my lips, moving over to where she was as she squeaked and tried to dodge. “You said I was a fish!” 

“I concede, you aren’t a fish! Now get away from me, you jerk.” She was laughing as she pushed my shoulder, going back to reading Homer like it was the bible. “Don’t take it for face value, but don’t discredit it either.” But the whole time, she had this ridiculous smile on her face, and maybe I did too. 

Three days after I arrived was when it really got interesting. Luke had called me down from my time with Thalia’s tree for a sword fighting lesson, it was a Thursday and shouldn’t have been any different than any day before it. But somehow when I stepped into the arena I felt more energized than I had in years. Luke was instructing, memories of Thalia complaining of how he was trying to teach her coming to the surface. No matter how okay I did with stabbing and slashing against armored dummies, I knew I was never going to stand a chance against someone in a real fight. None of the practice blades worked. 

“Alright, we’re dueling in pairs. I’ll partner with Percy today since it’s his first time.” I ignored the huffs of  _ Good luck kid _ and how they described Luke, I was a newbie and I need to earn respect. Luke was a learn by doing teacher, showing me thrusts and parries and shield blocks the hard way. He kept calling for me to keep my guard up, to lunge. All while hitting me with his sword. I got in one good hit to his side but mostly it was just keeping him from killing me on accident. Luke finally called a break, pouring ice water over his head to cool off and clean some of the sweat from his body. 

I smirked as I followed his example, feeling the water absorb a little into my skin to give me an extra boost of power. Unexpectedly, the sword didn’t feel so awkward in my hands anymore. I didn’t even feel annoyed as Luke asked if I would help him in a demo in a,  _ You’ll look like a coward in front of everyone if you say no _ , sort of way. He talked through how to twist an enemies sword to force him to drop it while demonstrating on me. “Most swordsmen have to work years to master this technique.” The rule was that we would spar until one of us pulled it off, but there was an underlying  _ until Luke pulled it off _ . It was almost fun to watch his face twist as I defended myself with newfound ease, getting in a few hits that made his eyes narrow. I knew this trick wouldn’t last forever so I tried the trick, hiding my smile behind shock as I found myself holding my blade an inch from Luke’s undefended chest. “Sorry.” 

It felt good to render him speechless for a second. “Sorry? By the gods, why are you sorry? Show me again, Percy.” I knew everyone was expecting beginners luck, but I could still feel a small hum in my nerves. So I went after him, defending with less vigor than before but still enough to leave people wondering who was going to win. I lost it before I could use the trick, but I still gave him a run. 

There was actual interest in Luke’s eyes as he ignored the whispers of beginner’s luck. “Maybe, maybe not. But I wonder what Percy could really do if he had a balanced sword…” I was less of a student and more a lab rat to be observed, he wouldn’t even talk directly to me. No, this was not the Luke I had heard about. Not even the one Annabeth described. 

The afternoon before the big deal Capture the Flag game, I finally built up the courage to ask Grover about his conversation with Mr. D. I couldn’t understand how facing down the minotaur with me, then being knocked out in the fight, meant he hadn’t completed his job. I was adamant about how I would always want him on a quest with me, even if Luke was up for it too. That seemed to confuse him, but he let it go in favor of asking me if I was enjoying camp. 

“Why are there empty cabins?” I knew that the Big Three weren’t allowed to have kids but obviously that didn’t apply to Tyson or cyclopes. It was just with demigods, two of which were born to break that oath. But I didn’t know why, my dad didn’t like to talk about it. For that matter, neither did Thalia who knew too much for a demigod on the run. “I know Zeus, Hades and Poseidon aren’t allowed to have kids.” 

Grover nodded though he seemed surprised that I for one knew that and two knew who they were. “Number eight is honorary for Artemis; sometimes her hunters stay in it but she doesn’t have any kids because she vowed to be a maiden forever. How her and Apollo are siblings, I will never know.” His mood seemed to pick up when I laughed at his joke, though he seemed nervous about using names. “Number two is Hera’s, honorary because she’s the goddess of marriage and wouldn’t go around having affairs with mortals. That’s her husbands job.” He went on to make sure I knew about what the Big Three had control over and informed me why Hades didn’t have a cabin. I thought it was kind of stupid how they could say his cabin wouldn’t be pretty, but the Apollo cabin could burn your eyes and the Ares cabin looked like a old age battlefield with better “toys”. He mentioned how it was disrespectful to not have a cabin, why would they disrespect Hades? 

“Why are Zeus’ and Poseidon’s cabins empty? I know they aren’t supposed to have kids, Hades too...I think Chiron told me. But why? Why not all the Olympians?” Grover glanced around nervously like he was expecting me to get struck down, but my dad would start a war over it and then they’d have to face my family...which I guess was just Tyson now. Grover tried to explain the events of World War II and how the winning side, Zeus and Poseidon, forced Hades to make an oath on the river Styx. “But Zeus broke the oath, he was the one who forced it in the first place!” 

If he was surprised by my knowledge of Zeus breaking the oath, he didn’t show it. He just looked at the water mournful, his voice like unsweetened chocolate. Way too bitter for anyone’s taste. “There was a TV starlet with a big fluffy eighties hairdo seventeen years ago, how was he supposed to resist?” He dragged a hand down his face, trying to covertly wipe away the tears forming in his eyes. “Hades was angry when he found out and since he couldn’t take it out on his brother, he let the worst monsters out of Tartarus to torment her. When she was twelve, there was a satyr assigned to be her keeper, but there was nothing he could do. She’d befriended two others and he tried to get them to camp, they almost made it. They got all the way to the top of that hill.” I didn’t need to look to know he was pointing right at her tree. He went on to say how Thalia stood her ground so the satyr and the other two could get away, standing alone against all three “Kindly Ones” and a horde of hellhounds. “She made her final stand alone and as she died, Zeus took pity on her. He turned her into that tree, her spirit makes sure every kid that gets to camp lives. That’s why it’s called Half-Blood Hill.” 

That seemed fitting, an eternal tribute. She would have hated her story being shared with strangers, she didn’t want the attention like her mom did. She told him once, “You know what I would do if I went to school, I would be one of those people that spends their lives helping important causes like protecting animals. You never see them on TV asking for their name in lights.” It was just a Friday night, they were having fish tacos because for some reason she loved them. She was helping him set the table, but she had this far away look in her eyes. 

“Grover, demigods have gone on quests down to the Underworld, haven’t they?” I told him I wasn’t asking to go to look for my mom when I asked, I wasn’t really lying. Just...not telling the whole truth. 

That night was my first Capture the flag game and I was feeling completely unprepared. The Athena cabin had made alliances with the Hermes and Apollo cabins, leaving Ares with the rest. Chiron announced the rules as a reminder, watching with tired eyes as the campers descended on the equipment laid out on the table. Luke helped me into all of the armor involved, working the shield onto my arm and handing me a sword. It wasn’t right like all the others, the leather grip made me feel like I had grabbed a bowling ball meant for Tyson. At least my helmet plume was blue.

“You’ll be on border patrol, just stay by the creek and make sure no reds get past you.” Easy enough, right? It was almost funny how Annabeth put me next to the creek, almost like she knew who my dad was. If she was as smart as Thalia said, she probably at least had it as an option she was hoping wasn’t true. I was startled out of my thoughts when I heard a low canine growl that was familiar in a way that made my stomach run away into the woods. It cut off suddenly, retreating as the underbrush on the other side of the creek birthed five yelling and screaming Ares warriors from the dark.  _ Great _ . 

“Cream the punk!” As if Clarisse could have been any less cliche and aggressive. Her and her siblings charged across the stream, leaving me a barrier between safety and getting pummeled. I stepsided the first kids swing but they used the distraction to surround me, Clarisse thrusting at me with her spear. I deflected it but my shield arm started tingling. I felt a snarl appear on my lips, a familiar feeling of electricity arcing under my skin. I’d been electrocuted enough to know what it felt like. I was pushed like I was a football lineman, only I was meant for basketball. They had me on the ground, trying to grab my hair to cut it. 

I scrambled to my feet and backed up towards the creek as noticeably as possible, if they knew I wanted to get to the creek they would block me. If they just thought I was running away, they’d advance. I hissed as Clarisse tried to shish-kebab me, my teeth feeling like they would rather be ripped out with pliers one by one. Her brother slashed his sword across my arm, blood dripping down to my fingertips. 

“You’re going to pay for making our cabin look stupid, you’ll get a haircut and maybe accidentally lose some other things…” He laughed as he pushed me into the creek, nudging his siblings while they looked triumphant. He seemed to forget that they didn’t need me to make their cabin look stupid. 

My senses opened up again, the sword balancing itself for me in my hand. The cut was starting to heal already, but it was slow as I needed more energy towards the fight. Ugly Number One went down with a hard hit that knocked his helmet off, his eyes vibrating in his head as he hit the shadow water. Ugly Number Two got a broken nose via my shield to the face and the other lose his plume. They both backed up pretty quick, Number Four didn’t look too excited to be in my general area. Clarisse kept coming. I kicked up some water to blind her, getting her spear shaft between my shield and sword, snapping it easily. I threw the point to the ground so none of us  _ really _ got electrocuted. 

Though her tantrum was entertaining, I was distracted by the yelling and elated screams as Luke ran over to the boundary line carrying the red teams flag. The Ares kids tried to run over to catch him but they were too late. I watched in amazement as the flag changed to show the symbol of the Hermes cabin, Chiron cantering out of the woods to declare our victory. 

Annabeth surprised me and pissed me off, leaving me at the creek as a distraction instead of why I thought. But then she noticed my healing cut, her eyes going wide as it slowly disappeared. “Percy, step out of the water.” 

I wanted to argue with her because I knew I was going to be bone tired if I left but she was doing the calculations in her head, I needed to pretend I didn’t know but… “No, I’m good to stay in the water.” Confusion flashed in her eyes but before she could ask, or realize what I meant, that growl was back. The camp went silent for the first time since I arrived, Chiron raising his arm and shouting, “ _ Stand ready! My bow! _ ” which I would only realize later was in Ancient Greek. I finally understood why that growl felt so familiar, a hellhound the size of a rhino standing on the rocks above us. It was staring straight at me. Even when Annabeth tried to get between us, she was too slow and it was just too fast. But I was ready, my hand tensing as I threw up a shield of water to protect myself, not blinking until it was dead with forty arrows in its neck. I collapsed into Annabeth’s arms as she gaped like a fish, her eyes wide. “Told you I should stay in the water.” 

The rest of the camp was too busy worrying about how it got into camp to have noticed my clear wall, believing they hit it in time. Chiron said something about someone summoning it and Clarisse cried something angrily. The body melted into shadows like I knew it would, but all I could focus on was Annabeth’s glare. “You knew, this entire time. Why wouldn’t you tell anyone and why would you try to be friends with me?” 

“Because you thought I was an idiot instead of the next Hercules.” I could stand on my own, luckily, as she dropped me when she finally processed who I was. Who my dad was. Finally everyone seemed to notice us, looking confused as Annabeth moved away quickly and tried to glare. A welcome presence surrounded me, the slight smell of the sea wafting up to my nose.  _ Dad _ . He wasn’t there, but when I looked up there was the fading remnants of a trident hologram over my head. He claimed me, for the whole camp to see. Mom did say he was dramatic. 

Chiron put an arm over his chest and bowed slightly while the rest of the camp kneeled, even the Ares cabin. I wanted to shout for them to stop but I stayed silent as I looked over at my friends, their faces something I couldn’t understand...and Annabeth couldn’t look at me. “Poseidon. Earthshaker,” somehow listing his titles made it even more dramatic, Dad would have been proud. “Hail Perseus Jackson, Son the Sea God.” 

“Please stop kneeling, I hate it when people do that,” was blurted from my mouth before I could stop it. Probably not the best thing to say in a dead silent clearing in front of the entire camp. 

“You knew of your parentage when you came to camp, but you didn’t say anything.” He sounded angry as he walked me with me stuff straight to cabin three, but it was more of suppressed anger. “Can you explain to me why?” 

I was shaking slightly, having seen the faces of the other campers after my epic fail. “Mom told me to hide who I was and to avoid any contact with Greek Mythology because my dad wasn’t supposed to fall in love with her. I would be in danger because of my uncles. And I knew how you all would react if I walked in here, claiming I was a son of Poseidon. Totally crazy, but then if I showed off the water healing or controlled the lake you’d all do what you just did.” I was rambling, but it was better than the eerie silence. 

Chiron let me ramble, most likely because he had nothing he could say. He let me open the door by myself, walking away as I took in the dust and the feeling of home. If Tyson were here, he would have muttered something along the lines of, “No respect, can’t even dust. No kids my ass,” before he started cleaning the entire place. He would have loved it here, he  _ will _ if only I could find him. 

I tried to sleep. I tried to sleep every day but ended up ignoring the warnings of harpies as I wandered up to Thalia’s tree. “Since everyone found out it’s been hard; you were right when you said they would take it differently than if I was anyone else. I sit alone at a table for meals; I pick my own activities but no one wants to join me. The Hermes cabin is too nervous over what happened to the Ares kids in the woods to practice with me so it’s mostly one on one with Luke. He seems excited almost, like something fell into place. I don’t know why he’s training me so hard.” I closed my eyes as I leaned my head back on the bark, taking deep breaths to try and calm the heavy feeling pressing down on my chest. “Annabeth still helps me with Ancient Greek in the mornings but I can’t talk or she get mad, I think she’s just trying to process the fact that I let them believe I didn’t know. I explained everything to Grover and Chiron but she won’t let me even greet her.” I rubbed my face tiredly as I let my eyes drift over to the water. Maybe I could disappear and everyone would be okay again. Not even Clarisse would come near me, it was like my existence had disrupted the rules of the cosmos and in a way it had. I just wish my friends would forgive me long enough to let me explain I had no choice in this matter. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all those who have given Kudos! 
> 
> Imaginationzkey - I won't give away any spoilers, but you're on the right track! There's a lot that happens before then that influences Percy's decision to leave.   
On your second comment, Hades is actually one of my favorite characters from the myths. He's loyal to his wife and just was given a bad lot in life that makes people think worse of him. That isn't to say he's not going to be an asshole to his nephew. 
> 
> AquaEclipse - Thank you for commenting!


	9. What If, Hades Still Saved Sally?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy still has to face the oracle and his quest, but this time he has more experience under his belt. He's had more time to practice his powers, his sword fighting. But the news still believes that he killed his mother, Tyson has disappeared, and nothing actually feels all that different.

I was almost sure that Annabeth didn’t hate me and was just trying to work through what was happening. That’s something that Mom used to say about Thalia and by the time she either came back or just returned for dinner, she wasn’t so angry any more and talked with me about it. So it wasn’t her, right? Someone had broken my window (which was obviously fixed almost immediately but I knew because there were still glass shards) and thrown newspapers all over my room. The  _ New York Daily Times _ with the Metro page staring me right in the face. The article was by EILEEN SMYTHE, I had that memorized by the time I finally got through it without tearing up the paper I was looking at. 

##  **NEW YORK RESIDENT MURDERED BY SONS? **

##  **BY EILEEN SMYTHE**

_ Sally Jackson is still missing, more than a week after her abrupt disappearance from her New York City home. Police have not yet released any more of her information due to her apartment being a crime scene, but outside sources say she was a well off writer with a boyfriend who worked at the local college. She had two sons who she loved dearly, but the question is if they loved her back.  _

_ Biological son Perseus Jackson was the oldest of the two and has quite the rap sheet for only being twelve years old. Due to suspicion of his involvement of his mother's disappearance, information was released about his school and police records for instances such as almost drowning half of his class in the shark pool of the Marine World aquarium and blowing up an empty school bus with a Revolutionary war cannon. These are just within the past two years, this could be his latest angry outlash.  _

_ She also had a second, younger son, named Tyson Jackson. He is not biologically related to either Jackson. The story of how he came to be was described by Sally’s ex-fiance, Gabe Ugliano. “We weren’t living together before we got married, a sort of tradition within my family. So one night I go over to have dinner with them, check up on the kid and there’s this dirty runt sitting at the table. I thought maybe it was one of Percy’s friends but Sally explained that he was homeless. She was kind like that. Anyway, she was taking care of him while the police tried to track down his parents. From what I gather all they found was an overdosed drug addict stripper. Not even a good one.” When asked about what he thought of the new edition, Mr. Ugliano seemed saddened and had to take a moment. “I was a coward and left. Percy was already troubled, I soon realized I couldn’t handle both of those boys. So I left Sally and...here we are.” He went on to describe the tantrums and the police calls from neighbors that were then confirmed by records and old neighbors. It seems the new brother and the disappearance of another father figure only amplified young Percy’s anger.  _

_ For the majority of this case the police have been calling this a disappearance, not only of Sally, but her sons as well. New evidence, however, has pointed us in the direction of Sally Jackson’s possible death. The apartment was ransacked recently leading the police to believe that whoever committed this crime came back to destroy any evidence that the police haven’t already found. Following the trail that the perpetrator left, police were led to the bedroom where a recently moved bed revealed blood stains and broken objects that weren’t discovered during the first sweep of the apartment. “This is why we stake out the place, the guy comes back to try and hide things and then we find what he was trying to cover up. The kids fingerprints are all over the room. All evidence points to the kid breaking into the apartment.”  _

_ With Sally’s possible death and the escape of the Jackson boys, speculation surrounding the preteens has escalated.  _

_ Police urge anyone with information to call the following toll-free crime-stoppers hotline. _

I was already beyond angry with what was written, the blame that always seemed to shift to Tyson and me no matter what had happened, I almost missed it. The number was circled on every paper in black marker. 

The ground shook like the camp was on a ferry, small swaying motions that you didn’t really notice unless you were looking for them. I cleaned up all of the papers, shoving them into trash bags by the door, I turned out the lights and collapsed onto the bottom of the bunk bed that I didn’t have to share in the middle of an empty cabin I would never have to share either. “Lights out.”  _ If only. _

The last couple days I had been expecting a summons to the Big House; either for the trash I had forced them to deal with from all of the  _ Daily Times _ I had destroyed in my room or because of my hidden identity. Something I was sure Mr. D was not too happy about, seeing as he refused to acknowledge my existence until I was standing in front of him. He called me a celebrity, something he clearly remembered I hated being from the Capture the Flag game. He was talking, but all I could really focus on was my trembling best friend who I had neglected since I had arrived at camp. Though we still hung out, there was this air of awkwardness and both of us refused about the elephants behind us. My father and his fate.

They seemed to have stopped arguing when Dionysus disappeared with a similar dramatic flare to that of  _ his _ father’s. All dire warnings and magical security passes before disappearing like he was a cartoon, something I would hold onto until after he left. Never tell a god that they look like a childs entertainment show, you’ll be a small animal for at least a week. “Sit, both of you, please.” Chiron laid down a winning hand he hadn’t gotten to use. “Tell me, Percy. What did you make of the hellhound?” 

I had already lied enough. “Even though I knew I could defend myself, I was scared. If I had been alone by that creek when it finally attacked, I’d be dead.” I glanced at Grover who was playing with the cards like he was a dying man who couldn’t be bothered to eat. “When it went for me, my first thought was to protect Annabeth so I put up a shield. As soon as it hit, I couldn’t hold it up anymore but you’d already killed it.” When they asked about the shield, I told them about the water. “I have better control than you think…” 

“That’s good. You’re going to need everything you’ve learned if you’re going to face worse. You have been offered a quest Percy, will you accept it?” A voice in my head immediately started warning about agreeing to things before knowing anything about them, but Grover was crossing his fingers and looked hopeful for the first time since we’d arrived at camp. “The hard part is the details, I’m afraid. You’ll have to accept before you can learn more. We can’t have rumors flying around camp…” It was a terrible lie that I almost wanted to call out, remind him that I would have no one but Grover to tell and clearly he already knows. But I didn’t. 

“My dad and Uncle are fighting again, aren’t they?” I tried to hide the tiredness of my tone, the annoyance behind it further. But from their expressions, I had hit the nail right on the head. “And it’s not just about the usual stuff, it’s something valuable to Zeus… Does someone think I have it?” More looks exchanged. “The weather has been weird since Christmas, the sea and the sky are fighting which means they’re mad at each other for something. Annabeth overheard something about a thief, a Fury came after me looking for something and...I’ve been having dreams.” The last time I mentioned dreams about monsters or Gods, Thalia went wide eyed. Apparently it’s about something that was coming. Something that’s happening. I asked her why they weren’t after me and she told me it was because I had Tyson. It was one of the last times I saw her. Then I had a dream with hellhounds and Furies, screaming and blood. So much blood. 

Grover actually burst, getting shushed quickly by Chiron who looked like this was a usual occurrence for him when he was excited. The centaur finally got back on track, describing what they were fighting about. If I was nervous before, now I was terrified.  _ The master bolt _ . I was absorbing the information but my brain wasn’t going through it yet, I was only snapped out of it when it started raining. “What better peace offering than for the only son of Poseidon to bring back Zeus’ stolen bolt?” 

“Where is it then?” 

I was prepared to see the Oracle, a mummified body as Annabeth had once mentioned. And then as soon as I saw her I realized I was nowhere near prepared.  _ I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker for the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python.  _ Greeks apparently really liked their titles.  _ Approach, seeker, and ask.  _ So I did. And what I saw made my stomach churn. 

I hadn’t seen my would-be step-father in years so the man I saw was how I pictured him as a little kid. A cartoon fat and squat man with a large nose and crooked teeth. The green smoke that created him drifted off in waves, like the smell I always found when I walked through the front door. He was caught in the middle of a poker game with Paul, my dad and Chiron. All exactly as I last saw them, dressed the same too. My dad with his stupid hats and fishing rods, I only wished he was really there. Gabe spoke first with directions, Chiron next with encouraging words. I would find the bolt. But then Paul warned me about one of my friends, betrayal beyond belief and failure awaited me. And finally my dad in his Bermuda shirt and fancy slacks that he had worn out to dinner with us: _ A mother, a sister or what comes in twos. Decisions decisions, you must choose.  _ My audience with the Oracle was over. 

Grover was too excited by the fact that we would succeed to question why there were only two lines to the prophecy, but Chiron took some convincing. I was anxious to change topics to where I was going, surprised when he tried to pin the blame on Hades. I knew that he had been angry and sent monsters after Thalia, but my father was also upset when he heard about her as a child. When he had me, that went away. Hades didn’t have a reason to stop being angry. Besides, Mom always said he was the tamest of the brothers and the most sensible. “Are you sure?” 

He seemed surprised I was questioning it, not out of fear but out of disbelief. “A Fury came after you, she tried to kill you when she was sure of your identity. They only obey Hades.” He took a deep breath. “And the hellhound, he must have a spy here. He’s the only option.” 

His words drew the memory of the evil voice in the pit from where I had tried to shove it away. “Yeah, Hades is the only option.” There was an unsaid,  _ he has to be _ that all of us were too scared to say. I half listened as they talked through travel plans, relief flooding through me as Grover decided he was going to come too. As weird as it was to think considering our time at school, I needed Grover as a safety. And then he mentioned someone volunteering to join our merry band. “Chiron, no one at camp will even look at me. Who's crazy enough to go on a deadly quest with  _ me _ , of all people?” 

“Someone who’s been waiting a long time to get out of here and be part of a quest.” I couldn’t even fake surprise when Annabeth shoved her Yankee’s cap into her back pocket. “My mom isn’t a big fan of your dad, but if it means keeping you from messing up I can handle that. Someone needs to make sure you actually save the world instead of lying right now and running away.” Maybe she  _ was _ the one who left me those newspapers. 

Luke’s gift made me nervous. I made a mental note to make sure they got lost on our quest, but for now Grover was happy to mow Half-Blood hill while he tried to fly. Chiron’s gift from my father made my heart twinge as I realized what this meant, it was like a last goodbye. He only saw me when my mom stood out on the beach and glared so he would drag his sorry ass to the surface… “Is this the sword you threw me when Mrs. Dodds attacked?” 

“Very observant. The sword has a long and tragic history that we need not go into today, you will only need it for emergencies. It’s name is Anaklusmos.” He went on to explain the other features of the sword that I was only half listening to, I already knew more about weapons than he was giving me credit for. I had accidentally slashed a spear tip through my mom once with no effect besides traumatizing the both of us for awhile. I had immediately broke down crying for fear that I’d hurt her, trying to shove down the tears. Thalia punched my arm for that, telling me if I didn’t cry than that made me a sociopath instead of a wimp. Tyson had made the joke that if I cried enough I wouldn’t end up like Thalia and we all laughed. I felt better after that. 

I paused when he told me the name, shoving down a laugh. “Riptide. It seems fitting.” A strong current, a hazard to ships and swimmers because it of it being forced into a small space. “Quite literally, the grip is much better than the other swords I’ve used.” 

"Use it only for emergencies," Chiron warned like he was handing me a credit card instead if a deadly weapon. “And only against monsters. No hero should harm mortals unless absolutely necessary..." He seemed to want to say more, but I was swinging the sword to get a better feel for it. “You look like your father.” 

“So how does it go back to pen form? Do I just recap it?” I learned very quickly how to dodge everything thrown at me with two siblings, but it was mortifying to fumble the pen when it shrunk back. “Um...” I blushed darkly as I looked around in the grass for where I dropped it before, glancing up at Chiron’s face to seem him almost laughing at me. “I’m kind of famous for losing things, I don’t know why you’d…” I paused as my hand brushed over my pocket, quickly pulling out the pen that I thought I had lost. 

“You can’t lose it, it’s enchanted to always return to your pocket.” He just laughed when I asked about where the sword went before pockets were created. 

Argus drove us towards western Long Island. It felt so weird to be on a highway again, especially with it being so quiet between us. Our driver not speaking, Annabeth trying to stay away from me and Grover trying to distract himself from the tension. “Why do you hate me so much? We got along before you found out who my dad was.” 

“ I don’t hate you.” She huffed like I was such an idiot for even suggesting such a thing, refusing to look in my direction. When I didn’t give up, she turned around in her seat so her knee was between us. “We aren’t supposed to get along, our parents hate each other. The temple with your dad and Medusa, Athens.” 

“That’s not the only reason you’re mad though. You hate me because I tried to be friends with you and hid who my dad was.” She looked taken aback, like she couldn’t believe I was calling her out. “I’m sorry that I hid from you, but did you see the reaction I got? You immediately hated me because of your mom, the camp holds me on a pedestal as someone to admire from afar or someone to kill to gain power! I just want my friends back because I lost them the second you all found out. So I’m sorry if you’re offended I didn’t tell you, but you just made it really obvious I made the right choice.” Getting Tyson to talk meant talking all the time, and Thalia was struggling with voicing her fears and why she was scared so Mom always encouraged me to talk with her. 

The rest of the ride was relatively quiet before Annabeth moved to sit next to me. “I don’t think that we’re ever going to be great friends because of our parents. But I think as long as you don’t try to win me over with a salt water spring, I think we can work together.” 

“As long as you keep me away from olives, I think I can stand to be around you too.” She screeched something about me offending her and moved back to her old seat, but when she looked up at me we both started smirking. We went back to looking somewhere else, my eyes falling on our driver. I blushed darkly when he winked at me. 

When the Furies appeared on the bus, we were frantic to find a way out that would make the monsters leave the mortals alone. But then they stood up, moving slowly through the aisles like they were stalking prey. In a sense, they were. 

“If you argue with me, I will kill you before they can.” Annabeth jammed her hat on my head and shoved me into the aisle. There was too much to process, but I froze when I realized my body was gone. I shook my head, careful to hold onto the hat so it wouldn’t fall off. Thalia was laughing at me wherever she was. I easily got past the Furies, hesitating as I glanced back at my friends. Grover reminded me so much of Tyson and Annabeth was somehow a smaller Thalia, it just made it harder to turn around and move to the front of the bus.

Before I could stop the bus, I heard the transformation. Every part of me was saying that if I turned around, I wouldn’t escape. But if I didn’t, my friends didn’t stand a chance. I took a deep breath,  _ what would Thalia do? _ So, I grabbed the wheel. 

When all of the people were off the bus, I whipped off the hat. “You know, I thought the blindness was just an old lady thing. I guess it affects old monsters too.” When she turned to face me, I unsheathed riptide for effect. I smirked as Mrs. Dodds hissed away from the blade, already having been hurt by it once. “I liked you better as a math teacher, at least then the leather looked fierce. Now you just look tacky.” Cutting through her sisters was almost too easy, I almost didn’t feel the heat of the whip when it wrapped around my hand. 

“Get off him!” Annabeth grabbed Mrs. Dodds in a wrestler’s hold, yanking her back to expose her organs. I tried to take advantage of it, but suddenly there was a yelp and a mass of blonde hair getting thrown at me. “Grover!” We scrambled up to help him, but he was already tying her up with the whip. 

I flicked my hand to keep her restricted without them knowing. “You’ve lost.” I went to swing but without me keeping her still, she quickly started struggling out of her ties. “MOVE!” I shoved the two out of the bus quickly, using the water bottles in our bags to draw them to us. She caught one of them with her fist but I had the other two. I didn’t realize until afterwards but the reason I was so frantic to leave, instead of killing her, was the familiar feeling of electricity buzzing in the air. As soon as we were out of the bus, the lightning strike shook the ground enough to draw the attention of the rest of the bus goers. I quickly capped my sword, dragging the two of them towards the woods. I heard the click underneath the screeching, my face turned back to the bus with my fear hopefully masked. 

When we got to Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium, I was almost just ready to accept the help. But then I felt the air, the drug and the sense of death. I was trying to fight through the fog, but the more I fought it the more it affected me. I tried to warn Annabeth about the door...but all my mouth would do was water over real food instead of the bars left in our bags. By the time she was asking for pictures, it was like someone else was in my body controlling my movements and voice. 

When Annabeth shoved us off the bench, it was like I had gotten a slap upside the head. And suddenly it was like everything snapped back into reality, I could stop myself from crashing and I could get my sword. I didn’t hesitate to bring out Riptide, swinging it to force her to keep her distance. I was used to fighting on my own, but I stood taller when I watched Grover drive in blind, swinging a club like he was Babe Ruth. 

“Percy, you have to be the one to kill her.” Annabeth didn’t waste any time fiddling with her hat, glaring through the statues. “She’d tear me apart if she got the chance then send my remains to Olympus.” 

“How do I kill someone without looking at them?” She quickly shoved a green ball at me off one of the statues near by, glaring at it like it offended her. “Use this. The reflection’s size…” She yelped when I shoved her yankee’s cap back on her head. “What are you doing? I’m trying to help!” 

“You said it yourself, she’ll kill you. So go, get us ready to escape if I don’t kill her.” I watched as Grover got in another hit, flying way too close for comfort. “Grover tap out!” 

When the head sat on the counter in its bag, looking at it made me angry. Angry at Zeus for being such a hypocrite, angry at my dad for being one of the big three and...maybe I wasn’t angry. Maybe I just wanted to prove I was better then their expectations. So I grabbed a box off the shelf and wrote the shipping address out of the book. 

“They aren’t going to like that…” It was a whisper from a friend who understood exactly what I was feeling. Because he could feel it too. Grover let me make the mistake, watching it disappear. 

“They’re going to think you’re impertinent. They’re going to  _ know _ you are.” Her eyes gave her away. She didn’t think I was wrong. “We need a new plan.” 

When the newspaper showed up, I almost screamed. The picture on the front page showed me shoving two terrified kids into the woods, my expression a mix of fear and a mask that was hard to read. What people could read was the caption: 

_ Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson, wanted for questioning in the Long Island murder of  _

_ his mother two weeks ago, is shown here fleeing from the bus where he accosted several elderly female passengers. _

_ The bus exploded on an east New Jersey roadside shortly after Jackson fled the scene. Based on eyewitness accounts,  _

_ police believe the boy dragged in two teenage accomplices into his escape, ones who weren’t ready for this much damage.  _

_ One of them could possibly be his missing younger brother, Tyson, but the picture wasn’t clear enough to see.  _

_ One of Sally Jackson’s friends, Gabe Ugliano, has offered a cash reward for information leading to the brothers’ capture. _

Annabeth didn’t say anything when she took it away from me, simply shoved it down into the trash can and went back to her seat. She didn’t apologize, she didn’t mention it afterwards. She just let me process what it was saying. She just watched me pace the train, handing me oreos every once in a while. 

After sharing my dream and the fears that it wasn’t Hades who was trying to start a fight, Annabeth quickly shut down. There was a silent prayer that the lord of the dead really was just resentful and wanted to hurt his brothers. “Do you see the Arch? I want to do something like that, make something that will last a thousand year.” 

I snorted as she whirled around to glare at me. “I’m sorry, but you sitting at a desk and drawing all day is a really funny picture.” Red was a fun color to see on her cheeks. “Yelling at assistants to get you coffee, wearing suits and stuff.” I just laughed harder when she shoved me. 

“I want to build things! I don’t just want to design it. Being an architect isn’t just about designing it, it’s about being on site and leading everyone through seeing what you see. Doing what you want to make something amazing. Athena’s children have to do amazing things.” 

“I can see it now, you being bossy and all.” She threw her hands up and moved so she was facing away from me. She muttered something about her needing to tell me what to do if we ever wanted to get anything done, but I ignored it. “You know our parents have worked together before. Your mom made the chariot and my dad made horses. Do you think we’ll ever be able to cooperate?” 

Annabeth turned back to look at me with a calculating look. “If you ever stop being a Seaweed Brain, maybe. Talk to me after we come back alive from talking to the Gods.” I let the comment go. 

We went sightseeing while we waited for our layover to be done, following Annabeth through the arch to eat and look out from the top. I should have been terrified up there but I was too distracted by Annabeth’s barrage of facts. “Did you know the arch is 630 feet tall?” No. "Did you know it was built in 1963?” Who knows stuff like this? “It was built as a monument to the expansion of the US after Thomas Jefferson completed the Louisiana Purchase, isn’t that cool?” I rolled my eyes with Grover but she just shoved us and kept smiling. I overheard something one of the park rangers was saying and asked her if she knew how much it cost. “13 million, isn’t that amazing?” Sure. 

When they tried to get me into the cramped elevator down and my heart stopped at the small space, I shook my head. The Park Rangers already said they were at capacity, I was good to stay. “Besides, I know more facts about this arch than I do about my brother. Good luck Grover!” 

As it turned out, I was the one who needed the luck. When the Chimera revealed itself, all I could think to do was say, “Thank god I’m not going to eat you. Venom would have been a better idea, wouldn’t it?” I kept dodging between the walls away from the mortals, trying not to fall out of the hole that we had torched. I managed to cut off an ear but it wasn’t exactly a strong hit, it just made both of the monsters angrier. “You know studded collars only work on teenagers, you're too old for that now.” 

“I don’t understand why Zeus let me test you with my son, you’re better with words than a sword and even that’s not damaging. You’ll die slowly Percy Jackson, just like your mother.” Wicked teeth smiling victoriously because she knew she’d won. I looked down to find the serpent's head in my calf. “They just don’t make hero’s like they used to, eh sonny?” 

I took a deep breath as I started to draw the venom out of the wound, gasping as the pain hit. I felt like I was on fire and the pain was amplified by removing it. “No, we’re better.” I raised my sword to defend myself while I worked, but my body was crumpling. The pain was too much. I tried to strike out at the Chimera, but my grip was loose and the sword fell away and down to the water. I had lost. Even if I could get the venom out, I would be torched or mauled. I needed to get to the water, but if I left these people...would the monsters leave them alone too? 

“Prove your bloodline, prove to me you are strong. Retrieve your sword. Fight like a true hero instead of wallowing like a coward. Prove your faith to the gods.” Echidna laughed like she was enjoying her own voice. 

“Father protect me.” It was a whisper before I dived out of the arch. Even though I was screaming like a banshee, I remembered my father in the candlelight on the beach and the awkward dinner on the docks. It might have been the only time he ever visited, but it was enough. He was enough. 

Getting away from the arch was like walking through a maze made with deadly weapons and lava. And trying to navigate with two friends who refused to stop asking questions while I was trying to get them away from it all. The mother from the arch had seen me which was not good, but I was relieved that all of the mortals were okay. “We need to get out of here, the police and media know I was here.” They shut up after that. As soon as we got back on the train, I just randomly broke down. I started shaking and hiccuping, staring at nothing. Grover gave me an awkward hug and Annabeth gave me some space. As soon as I could breathe, I explained what happened. I didn’t mention my powers with the venom, that was something you didn’t tell people according to Thalia. 

“We have to go to Santa Monica! You can’t ignore a summon from your dad like that.” Great, another quest to go on. At least this one couldn’t kill me...probably. 

When Ares came into the diner, I knew who he was. I didn’t know his name but I knew  _ what _ he was. A bully who used anger like it was a weapon, who spoke to be heard and get a reaction. I was still fuming when we reached Waterland, glaring at the sign like it personally offended me. As soon as I saw the shirts I started grabbing, smirking when I saw Annabeth next to me. “G-man, get in on this.” 

“But this is stealing! And you look ridiculous!” He quickly gave in to be decked out like walking billboards, dressing up head to toe in Waterland colors. “Do you think your mom is going to disown you?” 

Annabeth squawked, shoving him into one of the racks. “Let’s go find the shield…” Searching through the park was like walking through a haunted graveyard for amusement rides, it was like the skeletons of what could have been. I was starting to think like Thalia and I needed to chill, so I actually started listening to Annabeth’s mumblings about how stupid the people that built this stuff were. “I mean if they had used a different type of structure maybe it wouldn’t have fallen apart without recent maintenance…” She glared at me when I made a face at Grover, huffing something about how she needed better friends. 

“You love us Wise Girl, you were the one that…” I froze when we came to the edge of the ride we were looking for. “...volunteered.” It wasn’t that far from the entrance, spanning maybe fifty yards across and shaped like a bowl. “I wish I had my skateboard, I could get in and out of there no problem.” 

“Yeah, and probably break your neck on the way back up. What would we do then?” She was trying to tease me but her voice wavered. “My first quest is not going to be a failure because you tripped on a rock and got smashed into a concrete...Cupid.” Before I could ask what she meant, I saw the bronze statues surrounding the area. “These have something written on them…” She went to kneel down, moving her fingers over them like she could pull their meaning out. 

I rolled my eyes and instead looked down at the boat Grover had pointed out. “That must be where the water used to come through…” I closed my eyes as I felt around for the original water source. “There!” Water came pouring into basin, pushing the boat up to where we were. I grinned triumphantly as I reached over to tie the boat, confused when I didn’t find a line. “Guess we have to climb in.” 

“Percy, don’t do that! You can’t just…” She snatched the scarf I’d found away from me, shoving it in her bag. “No love magic for you! The damage you’d do…” She went to pick up the shield, freezing right before touching it. “Please tell me that wasn’t a spider web.” 

“Nope, worse. It was a tripwire.” We ducked as the Cupids drew their arrows to fire over our heads, trapping us inside in the ride faster than we could get off the boat. I had to pull Annabeth back before she fell out, my attention pulled away from keeping the boat by the rim. It was starting to float towards the center, right in the center of all the mirrors. I covered our eyes when the spotlights came on but all I got in return was shoved out of the boat. “Hey!” I climbed back up, purposely keeping my hair wet to shake on Annabeth. 

“Percy!” At first it was exasperation, then it was fear. I looked up to find small creatures using the netting that was keeping us in to head towards the boat. “Sp...aahh! Get them away!” Annabeth almost fell out of the boat trying to move us away from them, quickly giving up and just curling up on the seat. She was almost completely paralyzed. 

I looked around for something to use, sighing in relief when I saw the entrance to the ride. “Hold on tight.” I quickly got her in a seat belt, using the water to push us into the ride. I heard, “Zero!” just as the familiar tug in my stomach pushed us towards the tunnel. At first it was normal, but we quickly speed up until I fell into the seat with Annabeth, no longer in full control. I flinched as I saw the chains that were going to crush us. “It doesn’t matter when we jump, I can land us in the water. But you have to unfasten your seat belt.” 

“No, we jump on my mark or we’ll be crushed.” I was going to argue but then we were jumping and the boat crashed when I was going to say jump. I pulled the water up to protect us, making sure we didn’t hit the concrete with her too powerful calculations. “Great, now I’m soaked.” 

I rolled my eyes as I dried her off quickly. “We needed a bath anyway.” She punched my shoulder but it wasn’t as hard as it was before. Maybe she was starting to like me again. At least she didn’t kill me on the way back to the diner. 

The conversation with Ares went as expected, even the camera snap from inside didn’t surprise me. I had given up on fearing being seen, I just wanted it to be over. And then the rug I had just gotten was swung out from under me so I landed on my ass. “My mom’s alive?” 

“Hades isn’t an idiot, it’s the art of war. You have a hostage, you have power over someone. He pulled her out right before that guy killed her. It was quite funny to watch actually, he started screaming about something or other. Thought it was the alcohol. Went back to try and find the body even.” Ares just kept fiddling with his bike, kick starting the engine. “Have fun on your quest kid.” 

Riding in a truck with a starving lion and a Zebra who keeps calling you lord wasn’t exactly fun, but I had to say it was better than standing next to Ares for any amount of time. 

There is nothing more terrifying than not being able to remember your family member’s names. As we rode through the desert, I tried to remember details that had slipped my mind. Did I really not remember how long Thalia’s hair had been? The day I found Tyson? But it was a good thing, I remembered more of my dream than I probably should have because as the effects wore off I was focusing on something else. As I finished describing my dream to the other’s, they both looked grim. 

Annabeth refused to admit that there was any other possibility even though I was starting to doubt the fact that Hades had any interest in the bolt at all. It was my father who had started fights with Zeus in the past, Hades stayed out of most conflicts. I started to feel like we were less scared of Hades and more scared of who actually had the bolt if he didn’t. She avoided the topic by coming up with clever strategies to get into the Underworld, but our hearts weren’t in it. I watched as the sand gave way to water, holding my breath as we climbed out of the car. I swiped the card off the guy when he wasn’t paying attention, praying that maybe it still had some money on it. 

“Well? What now?” I walked towards the surf, feeling the disgusting water lap at my feet. I almost wanted to pull out of the pollutant out of it and throw it away but that would do nothing. So I kept walking, ignoring the confusion behind me. “Do you know how gross…?” My head went under. 

When the Mako shark started nuzzling my leg, I bent down to say hi. It wasn’t that different from when I had been visited by other water creatures at Montauk, even a few baby Great Whites. My mom had been terrified when I showed her the pictures from my underwater camera, but Tyson reassured her they didn’t bite us because we could communicate who we were and that we weren’t threats. Still, she told us to leave the nursery alone. “You here to say hi or…?” As soon as I touched his dorsal fin, he bucked. I held on tighter, taking the que. 

When I saw who was meeting me in the water, I almost wanted to hug her. She was part of my father’s court and visited us whenever we went to Montauk. She kept an eye on us for dad. “Percy, you’ve grown over the year.” 

“That’s not why you’re here.” It wasn’t as harsh as I meant it, I never could get mad at her. “Why didn’t you tell me it was you in the Mississippi?” She gestured to the water and I understood. She could barely keep a form in polluted  _ sea _ water, it would be even harder in river water which so far from the ocean. “What gifts did you not want me to trust?” 

“All gifts, they all come with a price. You know that and have an instinctual suspicion.” The sneakers? “Take these, three pearls. You remember how to use them, don’t you?” What comes from the sea must always return. 

When I returned to the surface dry and unharmed, I told them what happened. My suspicions about the sneakers. “Flying in the underworld seems like it’d be dangerous, maybe we should leave them. You said it yourself, the Furies are Hades guards.” Annabeth was angry that I would try to get rid of them, but Grover solemnly tried to take them off. “Don’t trust gifts, they come with a price. Right?”

She opened her mouth to make a retort, but Grover yelped. “Guys, the shoes won’t come off. The laces retie!” Point proven, I slipped them off his hooves, leaving the fake feet behind. The shoes flew back onto his feet. “What are we going to do?” 

“We can dump them in the underworld, feed them to Cerberus or something. Dogs like shoes.” Annabeth stalked off when I said that, wiping at her cheeks while she stared away from us. “Annabeth, you said it yourself…” 

“I trust Luke, you don’t know him like I do. You haven’t known him more than a week  _ maybe _ .” I let it go, trudging after her while Grover kept tripping over his feet. I only stopped once in front of an appliance-store window. There was a television playing an interview with  somebody who looked very familiar—Smelly Gabe. 

He was talking to Barbara Walters, who he used to compare to my mom to make her want to try more. She was interviewing him in his apartment, in the middle of a poker game like he had any money left to his name, and there was a young blond lady sitting next to him, patting his hand. “When someone as caring as Gabe here has gone through something so traumatic as he has, he requires around the clock care. He made a mistake and left the love of his life with two troubled boys but he never thought it would escalate this far. I can only be here to support him, as a grief counselor.” 

"There you have it, America." Barbara Walters turned to the camera. "A man torn apart. Two adolescent boys with serious issues that created a terrible fate for such good people. Let me show you, again, the last known photo of the troubled young fugitive Percy Jackson, taken a week ago in Denver." The screen cut to a grainy shot of me, Annabeth, and Grover taken by the fry cook from the Colorado diner, talking to Ares. "Who are the other children in this photo? The same young teenagers seen with him at the Gateway Arch?" Barbara Walters asked dramatically, making sure the camera was only on her.. "Who is the man with them? Are the Jackson boys delinquents, perhaps the brainwashed victims of a frightening new cult? Where exactly is his younger brother, Tyson Jackson? Has he gone back to his street raised roots? When we come back, we chat with a leading child psychologist. Stay tuned, America."

Grover and Annabeth each took an arm so I wouldn’t break anything. 

As much as our encounter with Crusty, his terrifyingly low prices and deadly waterbeds prepared us for the Underworld, nothing could have prepared us for DOA Studios. Getting past Charon was harder than trying to sneak candy in my room. I could easily do it in my dorm but trying to get anything past Sally Jackson was trying to get away with something while you wore a sign that said what you were trying to do. For some reason, after a lot of questioning and a quick swipe of the card I had snatched, Charon didn’t question who we were. “Freeloaders get another thousand years, no one try anything while I’m gone.” Riding on his boat made me sick, the pollutant of people's hopes and dreams getting as easily dumped as trash in the ocean. I could see why Charon didn’t care for the dead. 

When the dead started to disembark, a growl rang through the air. Someone was hungry and we didn’t have big enough dog treats. When we finally saw Cerberus, I felt a tug in my stomach as I remembered checking out dogs in the window of the pet store. We couldn’t afford one. 

“He just wants some love.” Annabeth tossed up a ball while Grover threw up his shoes. The three heads were content with their catch and whined happily. We played with him for a little while longer before heading into the Fields of Asphodel. Once you got past the whole, terrifying monster of death part...Cerberus was the cutest dog you’d ever seen, at least according to Annabeth. “I love him. I kind of want to come back just to give him some attention.” 

Grover bleated nervously, unsure if she was kidding or not. She probably wasn’t because she’s just crazy like that. When I started looking through the crowd, he tried reminding me about what Ares had said. “Your mom isn’t here.” But when that did nothing, he dropped it. My mom wasn’t the only one I had lost. “Hey Percy your bag is acting weird…” 

Suddenly I was stumbling away from the palace, towards the darker part of the underworld. I caught myself on some rocks as my friends tried to pull me away from the hole that was slowly becoming more visible. Then it stopped like it was releasing a breath, ready to inhale again. “Let’s go!” We ran faster than I thought was possible, just past where we were before when I felt the tug again. But this time I could fight it, like I was going uphill instead of on a dead drop. When we reached far enough that I could walk normally, there was a low growling noise. “So apparently the gifts meant a lot of things. Maybe the shoes weren’t the problem.” 

“I told you Luke was good.” Annabeth held her nose in the air as she walked towards the gates but her head slowly bowed as we got closer. No one could be confident walking in there. “You ready? Well then, entrez-vous.” 

Hades was a god. Dionysus, my dad, and Ares all sort of had a power about them but it was more toned down. But Hades' power was on display radiating throughout the room, a raised eyebrow enough to send weaker men to their knees begging for mercy. But Mom said he was reasonable. I knelt before him, glancing back to make sure Annabeth and Grover did the same. “Rise heroes, you must be the bravest of the camp to come here after what was done to me. Or maybe the most foolish.” 

“Lord Hades, we do not come to to make false accusations. Zeus would never part with his possessions willingly, my father is not so angry as to start war and the other gods wouldn’t start this war.” I raised my head to look at him, praying to him that he was the one with the bolt. “But we inquire about you knowledge of it’s whereabouts.” 

He was dark, yes. His hair was strands of shadow falling down his back, his clothes whirling with the souls of the dead. But he wasn’t evil. “You show respect by kneeling but inquire about things you already know. I know where the bolt is because you’ve brought it to me. The bag on your back must feel so heavy, it has entered the realm of a god and wishes to return to one. Even my brother’s toys have prejudice against mortal beings, even more so of your kind.” He moved off his throne to stand in front of us. Sitting he was large. But standing he was at least 10 feet. “Do you wish to threaten me with the bolt? Ask for your mothers return?” 

“No uncle...I…” I opened the bag to reveal the bolt, crackling in my bag. Part of me wondered why it hadn’t caught fire. “We didn’t know…” And then it hit me. Betrayal. “Ares gave us the bag, he needed to ditch it once he got it off the minion who stole it.” 

“Were you not that minion? Didn’t you also steal the helm from me, using it to escape unseen? The girl couldn’t have done it, she had her cap. The Satyr would have never had the guts. But you are your father’s son.” Hades moved closer, his eyes daring me to contradict him. 

I took out my pearl only to realize there was only three. I had no extra, even if we found my mother or Thalia. In that moment I let go of them both, I failed to save what mattered most. And I chose what comes in twos. “I will return your helm to you Uncle and I will return the bolt as well. I will bring the true thief to justice and out of respect, which you so highly value, you will return my mother. Goodbye uncle.” 

Hades called for the guards but we had already crushed the pearls at our feet. 

* * *

Hades slumped in his chair as soon as his nephew disappeared out of his palace, his eyes wandering to the garden where his beautiful wife was entertaining their guest. He smiled softly as he sent his guards away, moving across the grounds easily. “Your boy was respectful, not out of fear. I trust that his behavior comes from his mother’s influence?” He smirked down at Sally, having changed to his mortal form. 

“I simply told him you’d be his favorite uncle. He trusts me on these things.” She handed him a flower crown made of dark purples and blacks, watching as he placed it in his dark hair. “You still look Italian, even after all this time. Don’t you think it’s time that they came back into your life?” Persephone got the same look she always did when his children were mentioned, but it was quickly washed away when Sally whirled around to give that motherly smile. “Please tell your husband you two deserve to be parents for a while, this place could use a little laughter. Besides at Hades expense.” 

“Hey, I would hold your tongue if I was you…” His voice was light and his laughter loud when she just stuck her tongue out at him. This was the Sally he remembered, the one who leaned on the doorway of her apartment and asked if he wanted to meet his nephews. The one who made him Greek dishes from scratch and they tasted nothing like they should but still delicious. This was the woman who forced him to make them something once, who apologized when Percy accidentally covered them all with flour. Who beamed when she heard Hades laugh like it was the greatest sound in the world. “You just like being an aunt too much. You miss having kids that don’t sass you.” 

“I will have you know that I like seeing my pupils take down grown men with words instead of fists.” They continued joking around until the Furies came back. And it was time to say goodbye, just like he knew it would be. 

“If a war broke out, you wouldn’t pick a brother would you?” It wasn’t a question, she knew him well enough by now to see that. Persephone wrapped her arms around his waist, raising an eyebrow. 

“No. I would pick my family. Bring her and her boys down here, get my children and protect you all from the world. But I would stay neutral, I don’t participate in measuring contests.” He huffed when she gave him a knowing look, spinning her around to the crunching grass and smiles that brought the light to the dead. 

* * *

When I saw his motorcycle sitting there with the smug look on his face, it was almost like Nancy after my fight with Mrs. Dodds. He was okay with the outcome but it wasn’t exactly what he wanted. And like all villains, he talked about his plans. How Hades was supposed to kill me so he would end up with the Bolt, pissing off Zeus. Poseidon would be pissed that I was dead and mad that I was blamed in the first place. Hades would be mad at both of them because he didn’t know who took his helm. The best kind of fight is one with your family because it’s the bloodiest, they reopen old wounds you didn’t even remember were there. “I understand the plan, in fact it was worthy of Athena. But it wasn’t Athena’s plan, it wasn’t your plan either. There’s a reason you’ve never won a fight against her, she’s the strategy side of war. You’re the master of weapons, the actual fight. So who’s manipulating you? Is it that thing in the pit?” 

“I am the only God of War! I get orders from no one and I don’t have dreams!” Got him. He sent one of his beasts after me, the poor thing only doing what it’s told. I sent it to the local zoo, hoping they would know what to do. “I should turn you…” 

“Into something easy to kill, something you could run over and never really have to put any effort into. For the God of Angry War, you sure coward away from a fight.” I knew what I was doing, hell everyone on the beach probably knew what I was doing. But I was angry with the gods for what they had done to my life, to my friends. I wanted someone to feel the way I did. So with Annabeth and Grover’s support in my pockets, I raised my sword as the ocean churned behind me. 

FIghting someone who actually wanted to kill you wasn’t that different from fighting Thalia on the roof. Which sounds terrible because she’s my cousin and all but rules went out the window, she wanted me to survive. And monsters you could pretend were like a video game, they weren’t really dead. But someone who looked like a man? It was weird and slightly unnerving. I let him move me away from the ocean, I didn’t need to feel the water on my skin to use its strength. I moved around, dodged and slashed. I never touched him, always just missed it. “For someone as Ancient as you, I’m surprised your joints aren’t creaking as much as your sword.” Even with the ocean, I was going to lose. So I gave the water all my power, falling to my knees from an easily brushed off hit. The water started reaching further into the surf, waves building in the distance. 

“You’ve lost little demigod.” Ares went in for the kill but his sword hit nothing. He turned to find me walking on the water that had risen to our feet. “You shouldn’t be this strong, someone’s helping you.” I froze the water at his feet to keep him still and used his shock to my advantage, slashing downward. Even though he blocked me, I still cut through what would have been tendons. The roar that escaped him shattered the ice, the water retreating back to it’s normal level. I was flung back, rising to continue the fight. His blood ran gold. “You’ve made a powerful enemy, demigod.” Ares was a man of small vocabulary so he retreated to lick his wounds. 

“Did you just injure a God?” Grover was the first to move after he disappeared into light, staring at the blood seeping into the sand. “You just pissed off the god of war, he hates you. You’re going to die.” 

“Aren’t I supposed to anyway?” I tossed the helmet to the watching Furies, saluting Mrs. Dodds. If she was  _ Mrs.  _ Dodds, did that mean she had a husband? Off topic. “Please return this to my Uncle.” I didn’t wait for her to respond, instead turning to my friends. “Who’s ready to go face more Gods?” 

Apparently no one because I went alone. It wasn’t exactly their choice, I sent them back to camp to inform Chiron of what happened and who the real thief was. But seriously, I was not ready to walk into that thrown room. It was like someone had heard the comment about me thinking Hades was the only one who looked God-like so they had to one up him. And walking around, I almost felt bad for him. His palace looked like a reflection of Olympus. When I saw Zeus, I stopped feeling bad for him. Most people would want to run away if they saw him. He was tailored suits, trimmed beards just to look that more masculine, dark eyes and smelled like ozone. The only way you could tell he was Thalia’s dad was the eyes. Hers were lighter, but they were the same. And then there was my dad. Wearing a fishing hat, a Bermuda shirt and khakis. I kneeled in front of him first, listening to them squabble about respect. I told Zeus the truth of what had happened, pausing at the end. “I don’t think Ares created this scheme on his own, I think there was someone whispering to him like they did me. The thing in the pit…” 

The two of them started squabbling again in Ancient Greek and quickly shut up when I responded in it as well. Thalia had taught me more than the curse words. “We will not speak more of this, Ares acted alone. He had to have acted alone. I need to cleanse this bolt of mortal, you deal with the boy.” 

“Mom always said he was dramatic.” There was a thunderclap, but I ignored it. When my dad was human sized, I walked over to greet him. He gave me an awkward hug, but it was better than I was expecting. “She misses you, you know.” 

“Your mother doesn’t miss me, she just doesn’t know how to handle you and Tyson. But she’s a Queen and they always seem to do the right thing. Most of them at least.” He patted my shoulder. “Do you know why your uncle doesn’t wish to accept your words?” He explained the story of Kronos, how they defeated him. “Zeus is a brat of an only child and the youngest sibling put together, he is stubborn and refuses to admit our enemy can rise again. You must not speak more of this or Zeus will send someone to kill you.” I relented. “Say hello to your mother for me Percy, I do believe she’s got quite the tale to tell.” There was a smirk on his face I wasn’t sure what to make of. 

I made quick work of getting to the apartment, throwing myself at my mother when she opened the door. “I’m so glad you’re okay...everything’s fixed!” I stared at it in wonder, confused over what had happened in the time it took me to get from California to New York. 

“Oh Percy, Gabe kidnapped me! He hid away his record with the police and claimed to be a reformed man, it was terrible. The all these nice people raised money after I got away to fix up our apartment…” She moved slightly so I could see the teary eyed reporters. “They want to know about your experience with your kidnapper, do you know where your brother is?” And so we sat there for an interview, I described how Ares was one of Gabe’s old buddies from prison who took me and two kids from the street on a ride of terror, making it look like I was running away from questioning. He wanted to make it look like I was a delinquent so Gabe’s story would line up. And no, I didn’t know where my brother was. 

“We’ll leave you two to catch up.” The reporters quickly left with the story of the year, while we just collapsed on the couch and talked about what really happened. What happened with Gabe, where I went and my quest. 

“You should go back to camp soon, they’ll be worried that your Uncle killed you.” My mom just kept fixing my hair like it was ever going to look presentable. “I’ll call Chiron and inform him that I’m alive, tell him you’re on your way...You go pack up anything you want to bring with you, I know you didn’t have a lot of time…” 

The only thing I brought out of my room was a shipping box. “Mom, Dad and I want you to have this.” 

##  **_KIDNAPPER FLEES CONVICTION_**

##  **BY EILEEN SMYTHE**

_ _ _ The story of the Jackson’s has come to an end. Sally Jackson was found in Gabe Ugliano’s  _

_ apartment Saturday morning when she escaped to the kitchen to call police. She has  _

_ released her statement about the event, revealing the truth about what happened to her and  _

_ her sons.  _

_ “Gabe was going to be my fiance before my son Tyson walked in on him hitting me and he  _

_ tried to hurt my boy. I realized it wouldn’t be isolated to me, so I kicked him out and moved  _

_ away so he wouldn’t be able to find us. He must have found me again because on the night  _

_ of my son coming back from school, he came in drunk and smelling of smoke. I told my  _

_ boys to run but Tyson stayed to try and protect me.” Sally was talking through her tears  _

_ over the loyalty of her son. “He got thrown into the wall of my bedroom and broke a picture  _

_ frame on the wall. He was cut and there was blood everywhere, he’s my height you know  _

_ because he’s such a big kid. And so when I went to help him and got cut pretty badly when I  _

_ fell...I guess it looked like I’d bled out from the combination of it. I blacked out and Gabe must  _

_ have wrapped up my arm so there would be no trail. And Tyson, my poor baby, ran away.  _

_ He kept me in his apartment, saying we’d get married like we were supposed to and the  _

_ boys would be gone. He always hated kids...I’m just glad he was too drunk to lock me away  _

_ properly so I could get to the phone.”  _

_ This story has come to reveal a pattern of abuse and anger by Uglinano which led to his  _

_ arrest. In Sally’s own words, we’re happy to hear everyone’s home safe.  _

_ But this story isn’t over, as we have recently learned that this rich man’s money not only  _

_ paid for his bail, but his escape. No one has seen him since he was first released, it’s a  _

_ manhunt for the true angry perpetrator.  _

I was okay with this newspaper getting sent to me and I smiled when I read about my mom’s new art exhibit. I had been back at camp for a week and had been pacing wondering what was happening with my family. At least I knew one of them was safe. 

_ I told the museum and the media that I wanted to take this experience and turn it into something of use.  _

_ So I made a statute of the man I knew instead of the man the public saw from a distance.  _

_ They said it was a new beginning for ugly realism. I put away the tools you gave me though, I don’t think I’ll need them anymore.  _

I folded up the newspaper, but something was still bothering me. Ares wasn’t really a friend, was he? And I had sworn the sneakers were the problem. So I went to practice, clear my head. I was surprised to find Luke there, swinging a new sword like it was meant for him. A responsibility instead of a part of him. I tried to turn around, but he asked to practice with me. It felt like the first time all over again, except there was something in his eyes that made me want to run. Mom said you could tell a person’s intentions by looking them in the eye, but it was hard to look at Luke’s. They were so angry, it was like looking underneath Ares’ glasses.

When he took me to the creek that made the boundary for Capture the Flag, I wasn’t sure what I was expecting. He softened as he asked about my quest and joked around, he teased me and I thought I was seeing the real Luke. But then the clouds rolled in and he was gone. “The gods don’t care for us Percy, you heard about what happened to Thalia. She was fourteen, I just wanted to protect her you know? But they threw her to the side. You might have lived through this if you knew her.” 

I didn’t dare move when the scorpion appeared, I only growled. “Thalia wouldn’t have wanted this, she hated her father but she didn’t want the rest of the world to suffer without them. She was smarter than that.” Luke spit at me, angry that I acted like I knew her. He disappeared into the woods and I was left to fend for myself. 

After recovering from my sting, I realized I hadn’t really spent my time having fun at the camp. Besides the few days I had before my claiming, the entire time was isolation, quest, celebration and being almost dead. So for the rest of the summer I worked hard and made a name for myself besides “son of Poseidon”. I watched the news hoping for a sign of Tyson and always checked in with my mom. “He knows how to be on the streets, he’ll probably come home when he’s ready.” Neither of us were really confident with that answer, but it was the only one we had. So when it was time to leave, I grabbed Annabeth and raced down the hill with her. I needed to go home. 


	10. What If, Tyson Needed To Be Found?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tyson had stayed to protect their mother, runaway to prevent the police from finding him. But he stayed away because he didn't feel like he belonged, and Percy, after everything he went through at camp, should understand that.

It had been over three months since he first left. Mom was starting to panic since school was coming up soon and she wasn’t going to be able to explain Tyson’s absence much longer. “I mean, should I even be hiding this? He should have come home by now. I’m worried and I don’t know what to do. What do I do?” With our permission, she had told Paul that we were a little different. She had explained that my dad worked at sea and was very rarely home, which was why they didn’t marry. Tyson’s mom was a fling that ended badly and she abandoned him at a young age, so he was able to survive on the streets. 

“From what you’ve told me about him, it sounds like he can take care of himself and is probably using Thalia’s old hideouts. If you really are that worried, we can check out the homeless centers in the city or other areas he might have gone.” Paul was leaning across the table with her hands in his, rubbing her knuckles. The way he looked at her was the same as Dad. 

I took a left in the hallway like every night since I got home, throwing myself over a bedspread that wasn’t mine. “Where are you big guy? Mom needs you home.” A part of me knew that that wasn’t why I slept in his bed at night instead of my own, but I refused to admit that I couldn’t handle losing someone else. I refused to admit I  _ had _ lost someone else. 

I woke up to the sound of swearing which wasn’t that strange considering, but it wasn’t a girl climbing through my window even though his hair had grown down to his shoulders. “Mom’s gonna kill you when she finds out.” 

Tyson froze as he fell off the windowsill. “You’re back?” I was expecting surprise, I was even expecting anger. But disappointment? That was low. “Cool, taking over my room too. I was totally ready to see that. Or did mom find you another brother to put in your room?” He started shoving extra clothes into his bag, glaring at them like they had ruined his life. “You disappeared, you know. You went to that camp and left me to deal with the police, Gabe and everything else. You went on a trip around the country to save the world and I was holed up in the ground, hiding from Satyrs and that demigod at the shelter.” 

“Ty, I was worried as hell for both you and mom. I looked for you wherever I was but you were gone and mom was dead and I am THIRTEEN! I was handed a quest to make sure that our uncle wouldn’t destroy the western hemisphere.” 

“YOUR UNCLE! Dad  _ claimed _ you, Dad sent  _ you _ to fix this and Mom asked  _ you _ to come home.” He threw his bag at me, tears streaming down his cheeks. “I am twelve years old. Actually I only know that you found me eight years ago, I might be eight! Or nine! Or older than you! But no matter how old I am, you should realize that I can’t take care of myself out there any more than you could! That I just wanted to be looked for as much as you would. But if it were you out there, Mom would have had the whole police force looking for you. Probably all of your stupid camp as well.” He retrieved his bag which had fallen on the floor, glaring at me as he climbed back out. “I bet you won’t even tell mom I was here.” 

I didn’t. I didn’t know what to say to her, what was I supposed to do? So when she caught him a week later, I kept my mouth shut. She couldn’t understand why we refused to talk to each other and the arguments over the bathroom turned into storms outside, the rain only falling on our block. We didn’t go to Montauk that year, not even during Thanksgiving or Christmas break. “You’re such a privileged prick!” 

Even Mom didn’t let that one slide, locking Tyson’s window so he wouldn’t run away...again, sending him to his room. I thought it was over but then I was sat down in the armchair and told to talk. “You need to get your anger under control. We’ve tried therapy but it doesn’t work because of the lying, we’ve tried sports but you just get frustrated with the people on your team now. If you get into one more fight, coach is kicking you off the team. What am I supposed to do with you two if you don’t talk to me and let me help?” Mom kneeled in front of me like she used to do when I was little and scraped my knee trying to keep up with Tyson when he got bigger than me. “What is going on?” 

“He’s the one who’s angry at us!” I thought it was kept in my head but I very quickly realized that wasn’t the case. “Me, he’s angry at me.” But it was too late, she disappeared into his room to have a talk. A door for privacy. A door to keep me out of it. 

The day the monsters came we were fighting. I had had a nightmare about Grover in a wedding dress so I told Mom about it because I learned to never hide things from her. Tyson and I had formed a truce of sorts to forget about it but small things tended to make us explode more quickly. “I’m sorry Percy but I don’t think you’ll be going to camp this summer...I got a call from Chiron. I need you home so you boys can protect each other.” 

I was angry and scared about why I wouldn’t be going to camp. Tyson was angry about another reminder of who he was born as. What he looked like to everyone else. The shadow following me went to the back of my mind, I ignored it even though it felt familiar and safe. The English exam during first went as expected. Matt Solan gave wedgies to every kid he could reach. Tyson wasn’t usually the easy target, but today he almost looked smaller as he sat down on the swings, knuckles white. He didn’t even look up when Solan approached him, didn’t flinch when I told Solan off. 

The next was science. The teacher put us together as partners to try, “reforging (y)our brotherly bond through the inevitable explosion of knowledge” or the literal one that was required to pass the class. 

“No, you put these together. Those are basic and won’t react the right way!” He shoved me away lightly and I shoved back harder. Then he shoved all the chemicals into the trash can and we were forced to evacuate the classroom while a hazardous waste removal squad took care of our mess. “I told you that your chemicals sucked.” He glared at me as he moved out of people’s way. 

“Look at you boys! See, when you work together amazing things happen! You’re natural chemists, no one has passed my exam this quickly!” She was bright and smiling even as we rolled our eyes. 

I was safe from dealing with moody brothers during social studies but I was not safe from Solan. I took out Annabeth’s picture from her time in San Francisco, hoping maybe her magical wisdom would transfer. When Solan tried to take it away, I quickly shoved it back in my book and leaned on it so they couldn’t get to it. “Is there something you want?” 

“Another look at that girlfriend of yours maybe.” Solan wiggled his eyebrows at his ugly friends while they bared their ugly teeth like it was hilarious that Matt was being a creeper. He declared that he was going to mess up my face enough that she would leave me when the bell rang, the dodgeball game that we were promised making my shoulders sink. I was too tired. 

The game started off normally. You know, the big bully picking the teams and deciding his target should be the other captain. Then it all went to Hades, my eyes clearing to see Solan’s team for who they really were as they threw a ball at me. I looked around for my sword, panicking as I realized it was in my locker since my gym shorts didn’t have pockets. “Tyson!” My eyes must have looked like that squeezy toy puffer fish we bought our neighbor for her dog, wide and terrified. I really didn’t want to be that puffer fish…

“Percy, duck!” Tyson grabbed a dodgeball out of the air in front of my face, glaring at the monsters that were starting to to be seen by everyone else. He growled lowly as he looked at them, throwing the ball back at them. “Get the Hades away from my big brother!” He said some other words too but I was too busy dodging the rest of their arsenal. Tyson didn’t even notice when Solan ran passed him to get away, he was focused on taking down targets. 

I had to think but thinking wasn’t something I could do while fire bombs were being thrown around me. So I did the only thing I was good at and pissed the other team off until I got what I wanted. 

When Joe Bob went rigid, I wasn’t sure what was happening. But then I saw Annabeth standing there looking like she’d been running from ghosts, glaring at the last remains of the attackers. When Solan made himself known, she started stalking towards him. “You got another look at me, do you like what you see? Cause I don’t.” She knocked him out flat as soon as he was in range, twirling back around and heading out of the building. “I couldn’t find the time to talk to you, this morning you were never alone because…” She glared in Tyson’s direction. “He was there. But he needs to come outside too, we need to talk about what’s happening at camp.” She disappeared. 

Tyson groaned from the pile of rubble. 


	11. What If, Percy Didn’t Care?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy loves his brother and that's enough for the both of them.

“Where’d you find  _ him _ ?” She was glaring at Tyson like she was personally offended by his existence. “Only you would make friends with someone like…” She was pointing at him like he was some criminal in a line up. 

“Excuse me?” I might be in a fight with him but there was nothing I wouldn’t do to protect my brother. “Like what exactly?” I didn’t even have to look to know how Tyson looked, he was leaning on the wall with his arms crossed and head bowed. I knew that we needed to talk about something else. 

She huffed. “Is he homeless?” She turned to him surprised when he spoke, when he huffed and declared that he could talk. “Really? You must be older than I thought if you can talk at all. What are you, like four?”

“I’m actually twelve, thanks so much for asking. No, I’m not homeless and yes, I am probably the reason they didn’t find Percy for so long. I know exactly who he is and who is dad is, I have for almost all the years I’ve known him.” Tyson hadn’t look up yet, kept his shaggy hair covering his eye. “Who is this exactly and what does she need us for? Clearly she doesn’t like me but I’m out here for some reason, listening to you two act like an old married couple.” 

“Just get to the taxi, I’ll explain on the way.” Apparently we were going to sneak off to some magical taxi that wasn’t going to make us pay too much money all the way to Long Island. 

As it turned out, it was a magical taxi that just about magically sent the three of us back to my uncle. But when we got to camp, none of it mattered because if there was one thing I recognized, it was a battle. The Gray Sisters were gone the second all three of us were out of the cab, not even looking back for the three extra drachmas. We were left on the side of the road with just our backpacks, a knife and the two of us still in tye-dyed gym clothes. 

“Percy, this is bad…” Tyson was right. Ten demigods in full battle armor were running around the hill chasing after bulls made of metal that were breathing fire at anything that moved. The worst part wasn’t the fact that the demigods appeared to be losing. It was that the bulls weren’t stopping at the border, which meant something was wrong with Thalia’s tree. “They need our help.” 

Annabeth sneered. “They need  _ our _ help. Let’s go, Percy, your friend can stay here before he makes the situation worse.” Then she seemed to back track as one of the campers took a dive to smother the flames on his helmet plumes. “On second thought, you need to fight. I, Annabeth Chase, give you permission to enter camp. If you hurt one of our demigods, you’ll be immediately killed.” With that little warning, she disappeared into the chaos as she shouted orders. She ended up back to back with Clarisse and the pit of my stomach went cold realizing she’d rather be next to the most hated girl in camp than next to my brother. 

“Give ‘um hell, Tyson. Let’s protect Thalia.” And hell is exactly what we gave them. Tyson went straight for the bull threatening the campers, roaring as he slapped away flames and crushed the metal like puddy beneath his hands. I went for bull number two who was after Annabeth...and Clarisse. 

“Percy, no!” As always I refused to listen to the smartest person around, I jumped straight onto the bull’s back, ignoring the irony of how I killed the minotaur being recreated. I slammed my sword in between its neck joints, almost completely severing it’s head from it’s body before I toppled to the ground. My legs were on fire and blistering like an ugly fish eyeballs, the only pain I could feel was where the burns ended. All of my nerves were screaming about their lost friends, but I was more worried about everyone else. “You,” Annabeth kneeled down next to me, “are the biggest seaweed brain of all time. I hate you, you idiot.” 

“Move.” Tyson sat down on the ground next to me, dumping the water from his thermos on my legs before placing his hands on them. Annabeth screamed about infection and tried to pry him off, but was quickly silenced when my wounds started to heal. 

“Thanks, big guy. I’m guessing this means you aren’t still mad at me?” His glare was enough of an answer, refusing to look away from his work. “Come on, I lost you once and I am  _ not  _ losing you over some fight that hasn’t lasted as long as my idea to sneak Audrey onto the soccer team with us.” That at least got a smile out of him and I was going to call it a win for the day. “Is everyone else okay?” 

“No thanks to you, Jackson. What were you thinking, bringing his kind into camp? He’s a monster, a danger that is apparently worse than those bulls because he  _ destroyed _ them. I’ll find a way to get him out of camp and if I have to send you with him, camp will just be that much safer.” Clarisse paused as all of the energy seemed to drain out of her. “If you can walk after he’s done healing you, we need to bring the injured to the big house and let Tantalus know what’s happened. He’s the new activities director, Chiron and Argus have been fired. The gods needed someone to blame.” 

I froze, as did Tyson and Annabeth. All five eyes refused to look at the tree, hoping that we were wrong. “Blame for what?” Clarisse just pointed and the second I finally got a good look at Thalia’s tree, I threw up in the grass. 

The needles were a sickly yellow color like a bruise and the ones that had already died were in a pile at the base of the trunk, tangled in the roots that were drying up. Three feet from the ground was a hole oozing green sap, dripping like that story about Loki and the snake. All I could think was that every time I gained a part of my family back, someone had to pay the price. “Thalia, her tree. It’s...dying.” 

“And the gods believe it’s Chiron’s fault.” 

I tried to get Tyson to sit down quietly at my table with me, knowing he wouldn’t be rejected even on the tiny chance we didn’t have the same father. Any son of Sally Jackson’s will always be respected by Poseidon, she made damn well sure of that. But our new  _ activities director _ had other ideas. Ones I didn’t like, like reinstating the chariot races, and even Clarisse decided to protest. But it was all in vain because he just wanted to get to his next point. “Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase saw it fitting to bring you here, into my camp. Cyclops have been known for their bloodthirsty brutality and very small brain capacity, like most monsters. If I was a different man, I might release it into the woods and task those who brought you here with retrieving your head as trophy. Who knows? Maybe you aren’t so bad. We could put it in the stables,” he suggested to Dionysus, before wrinkling his nose, “but that would just scare the horses. They know a beast when they smell one. Perhaps the Hermes Cabin? Open to all strays?” 

“He’s going to stay in my cabin because that is where he belongs. Not in a stable, which might I remind you the horses barely even use, or the Hermes Cabin which is over crowded as it is. He’s going to stay with family.” Just as Tantalus smirked and began his objection, a sea breeze washed over the dining pavilion and a green trident appeared over Tyson’s head. “In fact, he’s my brother.  _ Why shouldn’t he? _ ” The shock of Percy Jackson, hero of camp, defending a cyclops  _ and _ that same cyclops being claimed like a demigod, was enough for Tyson to seat himself next to me. It was enough for the camp to go back to business as usual that night without protest, except the fact that Annabeth refused to look me in the eye. 

When we got to the cabin, Tyson broke down as stared at everything. “He claimed me, he  _ wants me _ .” We sat on the floor together and as the day went over in our minds, I realized how much he had questioned if he was just a throwaway, a lost and found. 

“Yeah, buddy.” I hugged him tightly because Thalia would if she were here. “Now you just have to get used to everyone kneeling and looking at you weird because you’re a child of the Big Three…” I laughed when he shoved me away, knowing he was trying to hide a smile. I was a big brother, no matter how much smaller I was compared to him.


	12. What If, Percy Trusted Him?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a few days into camp and everything is going wrong. Percy and Annabeth are fighting, one of the Aphrodite girls is trying to get him to fly (which is a terrible idea, but she's too pretty to say no to), and Tantalus is trying to kill them. Just normal camp stuff. Oh, and did I mention that there's a quest?

Tantalus decided that it would be a grand idea to reinstate the chariot races, most likely to kill a few of us off so he would have less kids to deal with. At the very least it would give me something to focus on until we could figure out a plan to save Thalia’s tree. Annabeth was excited to work with me on the chariot, but looked disgusted when I asked if Tyson could join us. “Why would you want  _ that _ to help plan?” 

“Because  _ he _ is my half-brother and is really good at building things, you two would get along great actually,” I tried to tell her but her face just made something angry settle in my stomach. “If you’d stop being so mean to him.” 

“Mean?! He’s a monster, Percy, how can you not understand that?” Annabeth was getting frustrated, her bros were scrunching together like mine did when I tried to do calculus. “His kind eat demigods like us and yeah there are some that work in Posiedon’s forges, but that’s because they’re ruled over by a  _ god _ . He’s going to grow up one day and decide that you look more like food than his brother.” Her face softened. “I just don’t want you to end up dying on me, seaweed brain.” 

I knew there was a reason she was pushing this so hard, but I refused to let her bully my brother like that. “He’s not a baby, he’s almost eleven. So I’m betting that if he hasn’t eaten me yet, I think we’re safe.” 

Annabeth finally gave up on trying to be nice about it, anger flushing her cheeks in waves of red. “Maybe you are because you’re too salty for him, or he’s smarter than most. Maybe I made a mistake letting him into camp because now he gets to pick and choose his next meal! Maybe he’s just waiting for you to go on some quest and then he’ll terrorize the camp!” 

“With the way your acting, I’d be more likely to ask him to go than  _ you _ ,” I growled out and instantly regretted it. I couldn’t take anything back, so I watched as she grabbed all of our schematics and ran. I deserved that. 

Selina Beauregard was one of the less dramatic of the Aphrodite children. Thalia had told him once that each demigod was usually more closely connected to one aspect of their parent, like how she was more a storm and lightning than clouds. If Silena was an aspect of her mom, she was soft love. Like kindness given to everyone and a need to give instead of receive. Mostly, she just made the people next to her sappy, which was probably why I was the way I was when I sat next to her. 

She was supposed to be teaching me how to ride one of the camp pegasus, but she knew I was struggling and offered to talk. “What’s your story with that half-brother of yours anyway?” she’d asked with a knowing smile. “You two have a stronger bond than you would have if you had just met.” 

“We actually met when we were little. He was still a baby, maybe two or three? At least, he looked like a human two or three year old,” I amended. “My mom was scared of him at first because she is clear sighted. But he was getting beat up on by a shop owner who didn’t like him sleeping on the sidewalk outside and that’s when she decided to take him home with us. She officially adopted him, then took us out to the beach to meet our dad. I guess he blessed Tyson to grow like a human so he could stick around longer, cause he might be big but he’s not a giant. Mom says when he’s ready, he'll be full grown, but I don’t know if that’ll happen.” 

I knew that was a lot to take in, but I was surprised when Silena just giggled. “You know that sounds like a children’s book, right? Finding a stray on the street and taking it home against all odds, like the opposite of Cliffard!” 

Normally I would have shoved someone for a comment like that, but this was Silena. She was too good for that. “Yeah, I guess.” She rolled her eyes and pulled me to my feet, causing me to blush heavily. She was older, very pretty, and she was talking to me like we were friends. It was over very quickly when she took me to the stables, Silena quickly switched into teach mode. 

Between the two of us, there was a chariot in no time. Tyson was excited to work alongside the Hephaestus campers and easily found a place in the forge. He worked on all of the metal while I cut and sanded the wood, and then he directed me on how to put it together so it was finished by both of us. “This is going to be cool,” he whispered in awe when it was done. 

“Of course it is,” I huffed. “We built it so it has to be.” He shoved me and I shoved him right back, though he didn’t move quite as much as I did. We continued teasing each other all the way back to the cabin, laughing and trying to get one another down to the ground. I was too fast for him and he was too big. We were evenly matched. 

That night when we were getting to sleep, with him using the special blankets mom had gotten him so it would cover him from shoulders to toes, he sighed deeply. “You know, I wanted a brother when I was on the streets. My mother didn’t want me, she knew what I was going to be before I was born and tried to get Dad to take me to the forges. He said no because I wouldn’t be able to work, but he told her to leave me in that park. The one that you found me in? She told me to stay there until my family found me.” I didn’t dare breathe, Tyson had never talked about his birth mother before. “I’m really glad you and Mom found me.” 

I could feel the tears closing my throat, but I refused to cry when he could still hear me. “Me too buddy, me too.” I curled up under my own sheets and tried to close my eyes, hoping that my dreams wouldn’t be too bad this time. 

That hope was both fulfilled and laughed at. I finally found out where Grover was and what had happened to him which was awesome, but at the same time everything else sucked. I knew I should tell Annabeth, but what was I supposed to say? “Hey Annabeth, Grover talked to me through an empathy link to tell me he is trapped by the cyclops, Polyphemus, who currently thinks Grover is his bride. I know where they are though, Grover said it was the Sea of Monsters! But we have to hurry because if the Cyclops finds out that Grover is a Satyr and eats him, I might die too.” 

Which, to be honest, was all I had so no one is allowed to blame me for saying exactly that to Annabeth when I saw her next. It also just happened to be right before the chariot race and was horrible timing, totally should have held off on that. “You’re just trying to distract me, you think Cyclops aren’t dangerous which is why you’re racing with one. Get on your own chariot and stay out of my way,” Annabeth warned him while she glared from her spot behind the starting line. 

The race started out about as well as you would expect, both the Hermes and Apollo chariots were down within the first twenty feet because they had crashed together and their horses were not happy about it. We were almost next because of Beckendorf, but Tyson was just as competitive as I was. 

Still, sometimes things were more important than winning. “Those birds! Thalia mentioned them, they’re Stymphalian birds, they eat living flesh!” Already the birds were attacking the stands and the only people who seemed to be at least slightly successful was the Ares chariot, with Clarisse driving and her fighter using camouflage netting. “You need sound, maybe you should start singing!” 

“Now isn’t the time to make fun of me,” I growled at him, before an idea came to me. I moved the horses faster, explaining the plan quickly so they would do what I wanted. If they could just get me close enough to Annabeth’s chariot, I wouldn’t need them anymore and they could run and hide in the stables like they were asking to do. “Tyson, jump off and defend the people in the stands with Clarisse. Annabeth and I are going to get some music.”

Tyson just nodded and leapt from the moving chariot, rolling before he hit the ground, and came up with a discarded spear. He whistled loudly through the gap in his front teeth that never seemed to go away, scaring the birds enough that they allowed him to get in front of the stands and gave the Apollo archers a chance to shoot a few down. It didn’t last long, but at least the swarm had dwindled. 

I didn’t need to explain the plan to Annabeth as she seemed to understand the moment she saw where we were going. “Smart move, for a seaweed brain,” she teased. What was it with people still making fun of me when we were being attacked? 

At least we weren’t being attacked for much longer, between Chiron’s music that he had left behind and the Apollo cabin’s accuracy, there wasn’t much left of the Stymphalian birds besides bodies on the ground. Which apparently they were all having for dinner, making the entire camp cheer. “We can not celebrate just yet, we need to punish those who brought this down upon us. Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, and the monster.”

I was about to protest, but most of the campers in the stands beat me to it. Apparently it didn’t matter to them as much in that moment that Tyson was a cyclops, he had just helped defend them against flesh eating monster birds. Too bad Tantalus was having none of it and punished them anyway. 

Tyson was having an amazing time splashing in the lava and building ships out of the utensils, clearly forcing the issue of Annabeth and me not talking. I could tell she was going to be stubborn, her brows were scrunched together and she was biting her lip as she scrubbed an already pristine plate. “You know I wasn’t trying to distract you by telling you I had a dream about Grover, I wouldn’t do that.” 

She sighed and put her plate away. “I know you wouldn’t, he’s your best friend.” I had to bite my tongue to tell her she was too, this wasn’t the time. “But Thalia’s tree is dying and I can’t...I can’t lose her  _ and _ Grover and if you’re right that he’s in danger…” 

“I am. We need to see the oracle so they’ll give us a quest.” That was when I knew she believed me, there was no way I would suggest going to see the mummy in the attic unless I absolutely had to. “He also mentioned something about why he was drawn there, something about an object that radiates nature magic? He thinks that it's why all the searchers keep going missing, it's so powerful they think it's Pan.” 

Annabeth froze. “You have got to be kidding me, there is no way this isn’t a trap. First they poisoned Thalia’s tree, then Grover just happens to end up on an island which holds the one thing that could cure her? There is no way…” 

Something curled around my insides and squeezed until I thought I was going to be sick. “They want whatever it is to themselves, Luke wants the fleece for something so he had to give us a reason to get it. Poison her tree, force us to go on a dangerous quest to find it and then intercept it before we can save her. They have the object for what they need and then they can take over camp.” It was just like the year before. Luke had failed to deliver the bolt so he got Ares to give it to us so we would take it down there ourselves. He wasn’t trusted to get his hands dirty anymore. 

“That’s definitely fitting of a son of the trickster god, but it’s not Luke. He wouldn’t hurt her tree! He loved her just as much as I did, maybe more. There’s nothing that could...I still don’t…” Annabeth probably would have started crying if the conch shell hadn’t blown. Time for the campfire. “We’ll figure this out, okay?” 

I refused to let Tyson know I was thinking of running away to do this quest, which Tantalus had given to Clarisse as she was the winner of the chariot race. I thankfully kept my mouth shut after sharing the coordinates, but that didn’t do much. The reason why I didn’t want to tell Tyson was because I knew he would go with me and if we failed, I could possibly lose Thalia  _ and _ him all in a few weeks. I wouldn’t be able to handle that. 

So I went to the beach with my smuggled Coke. I knew Clarisse would be able to do it, but not alone. No one else really seemed excited to go with her and she would get herself killed being by herself. She was a leader, but a leader was nothing if no one followed them. Would I be able to follow Clarisse if I needed to? Most likely not, but I would listen to her advice at least. 

“You look like a young man who should look at the stars more, they’re beautiful. Especially out here where you can actually see them.” That was my first introduction to Hermes, but it took me until I met George and Martha to figure that out. At least he gave good gifts; a thermos containing the winds of the four corners of the earth which doubled as a compass (which I figured out before Hermes which felt cool), and a bottle of multivitamins shaped like monsters. Apparently they would help me feel more like myself when I most need to. “You can use them on your quest, should you decide to go. But you must choose quickly, your friends are looking for you and they are the lesser of the two evils you will deal with if you stay.” 

I could already hear the harpies calling out in excitement, they loved to punish campers who disobeyed the rules. I made my choice before my friends arrived and prayed to my father, which meant that the hippocampi arrived just as Annabeth and Tyson did. “Thank you,” I whispered and I wasn’t exactly sure who I was aiming it at. 

“What is going on? I heard you call for help, I thought the harpies got to you.” Annabeth looked worried while Tyson rolled his eye. I quickly explained everything while I attacked the duffles to our rides, petting each of their noses in turn as thanks. 

Before she could argue about Tyson, I pointed to the biggest one who was the perfect size for Tyson. “She’s here to to carry him while these two are here for us. Perfect fit, right?” She glared at me but climbed onto one of them, whispering about how pretty they were and smiling at the nuzzles she got in return. 

All of us were sad that we had to separate from them when we reached the ship, but it was for the best. I just wish Tyson was the only “monster” on the ship. 

After the shit-show on the cruise ship, I was glad to be able to rest somewhere safe. Even if it was built partially by Luke, the person that Thalia had been in love for most of their time together even when I thought it was gross. And he thought she would have taken his side, it had taken everything I had not to scream at him because  _ I  _ had known her longer and he was an idiot for thinking that. I almost told Annabeth everything when Tyson left to rage in the woods under the guise of looking for supplies. She beat me to it.

“Percy, you remind me so much of Thalia. You’re both stubborn and thick headed and you would  _ never _ turn on those you love. She got mad at her dad sometimes, called him names because she could and she was upset. But just because she didn’t think he was the best parent, didn’t...she would never have sided with Luke. I know that because you wouldn’t, right?” 

“Never,” I told her and there wasn’t a second's hesitation. He hurt Thalia’s tree, which at worst still held her body and at best meant desecrating her grave. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this chapter today, so I know it could probably use some work. Any constructive criticism would be appreciated, and as always, comments and kudos are awesome! 
> 
> Shout out to Imaginationzkey for commenting so much, as well as AquaEclipse, TinaBMT, and Kaetbab. 
> 
> Thank you to all those who have left kudos as well!


	13. What If, Percy’s Fears Came True?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They've arrived at the Sea of Monsters.

Of course Tyson knew it was a steam engine, he’d always had an obsession with ships and if I ever needed one built, he would be who I would go to. Clarisse on the other hand, was not so happy to see us. To be fair, we were covered in monster guts, but that was her own fault for exploding a hydra right on top of us without warning. “Losers,” she had huffed as she let us on board. We’d then been forced on a full tour of her ship, must to my boredom and Tyson’s excitement. The only reason it wasn’t worse was because he kept asking questions about everything we saw and Clarisse wasn’t having fun if he  _ was _ . 

“You’re screwed, Tantalus expelled you for eternity and Mr. D’s excited to turn you into squirrels and run you over with one of the  _ Delphi _ vans.” Clarisse was lounging in her captain's chair eating potato chips like someone in ancient Greece would eat grapes. 

Annabeth rolled her eyes. “I’m sure they’re enjoying it immensely, but when Chiron is reinstated he’ll let us back in and you won’t have to worry about us any longer.” For my own sanity, I turned my attention to the sandwiches provided and tried to tune them out. It was funny, they sounded like me and Thalia when we were upset. “We’ll be out of your hair and off your ship even faster,” she mentioned, “if you use us to get the fleece. This is your quest, but two extra hands couldn’t hurt.” 

“I know what you’re doing, wise girl, and it ain’t gonna work. You three are going to stay on this ship until we get back to camp and if you even  _ think _ ,” Clarisse threatened, “of ruining this for me, I’ll let Captain do what he wants with you yankees.” The spark in the confederates eyes was enough to make me flinch. 

Time passed slowly after that since there was nothing for me to do besides avoid Clarisse and her soldiers. Annabeth was nervous and frustrated, so I spent some time playing card games with Tyson in our room so neither of us did something stupid while we waited to be needed. I was in the middle of explaining my dream about Grover to Tyson when the alarms went off, screaming from the deck reaching our ears almost immediately afterwards. I grabbed all of my things and shoved them into my backpack, uncapping Riptide as I ran up the stairs, dodging confederate zombies as I went. “What’s happening?” 

“We’re about to enter the Sea of Monsters and Clarisse won’t listen to me! There are two entrances, both deadly, but there’s one that we can get through if we time it right,” Annabeth explains as she points to a series of cliffs that slam together at seemingly random intervals, and I feel my stomach tie into knots as I realize that’s the better option. “But she wants to go through the Sisters! If we make it past Charybdis, we’ll be picked up by Scylla and eaten! At least with the rocks we only have one problem!” 

Clarisse glared at them from where she was directing soldiers. “You aren’t Captain of this ship, and you certainly aren’t leading this quest! If you want to grab a lifeboat and run away, princess, be my guest! But real heroes don’t back down from finishing the job!” 

“They do if it’ll get everyone killed anyway!” Annabeth screamed back over the noise of the water rushing, and I finally realized who she meant by Charybdis. Giant fin-like teeth rose from the depth and circled the entrance, sucking what seemed like half the water into her until the water line dipped a few feet. “We need to move forward quickly before she spits it all out or we’ll make no progress,” she muttered in annoyance. “It’s not like we can kill thm,” she explained, as if reading my thoughts. “They’re the immortal guardians, both keeping us out and keeping what lives there  _ in. _ ” 

_ Well this sucks. _ “Are you sure we can’t like, talk to them? You’ve calmed down Clarisse enough times, I have complete faith in you.” She glared at me but there was a smirk she was trying to hide, so I knew she felt marginally better. Before she could respond, I grabbed the rail and dragged her with me just as a rush of water almost made the ship turn on its side. 

Tyson joined us with a worried look on his face. “The engine isn’t doing too well, it can’t handle the amount of force that this is putting on it. One of the zombie dudes just burst into flames trying to fix it, I have to do something.” 

“No you don’t, you have to get out of here with us. This clearly isn’t working and if I can just get us to the water, we can use the winds and our powers to shoot us by Scylla without her being able to eat us. We’ll force Clarissa into a boat and we’ll survive.” I knew I was rambling but I could see from Annabeth’s face that she agreed with me, even if she wanted to tweak the plan so that we wouldn’t die because of something I didn’t think of. When I looked back, Tyson was gone. “Gods dammit, Tyson!” I moved to go after him, but then suddenly my feet weren’t touching the deck anymore. 

* * *

My eyes felt like lead as I groaned, my under arms somehow bruised and sore all at the same time. As I slowly came to reality, I realized I was on a small boat that wasn’t being attacked, so Annabeth must have followed through on the plan.  _ I cut that thing’s head off so I wouldn’t lose the pack,  _ I remembered as my foot touched something that sounded like a bag. And then the rest of it came to me. “TYSON!” 

Annabeth didn’t even flinch when I bolted up right, unable to look at me as she tried rowing with only one paddle. “I couldn’t save both of you. I got the life boat and pulled you out of the water, but then the boat exploded and we were pushed through to Scylla and I used the winds and now we’re here.” She didn’t apologize, she didn’t want to. I knew no matter how much I loved Tyson and he proved himself, she would choose me over someone she thought was a monster any day, so it would have been fake if she tried. 

I started crying which actually startled her, but I didn’t care. He was my  _ brother. _ In the past year, I’d lost my mom, Tyson, been forced to face the fact that Thalia was a  _ tree, _ that that same tree was dying so it was like losing her again,  _ Tyson _ was now gone...I wasn’t strong enough to do this, not again. My family was all I had for the first twelve years of my life, and now one of my best friends along with both my siblings was probably going to die. While I could do  _ nothing _ to stop it. 

Something hit my forehead and when I glanced up, Annabeth was holding the vitamin gummy jar from Hermes. “You’re losing it, you can’t do that yet. Grover is still alive, Clarisse is probably headlocking Scylla as we speak, and Tyson will show back up at some point. Until we know that they are  _ actually  _ dead, you are going to stay with me. Got it?” 

“What are you going to do, throw me off this lifeboat? I can breathe underwater,” I snarked back, but she had a point, so I wiped my face and fiddled with Riptide while I got my heart rate under control. “Where to next?

Annabeth gave me a look that made me feel like I was missing something, and I was positive it was because in fact, I was. “I’m not the human compass, seaweed brain. You tell me where we’re supposed to be going; I’ve just been making sure we don’t end up back with the twins.” I felt heat rise to my cheeks so I stuck my tongue out at her in retaliation. “You’re  _ so _ mature.” 

I pulled my tongue back into my mouth, if only because I was worried she would cut it off with her knife. “Know it all. Speaking of, Luke mentioned a prophecy. Does it have anything to do with the secret you and Chiron are keeping from me?” 

“We aren’t keeping secrets,” she said, but it was too defensive for either of us. “Fine. There’s a prophecy that the oracle spoke before even Thalia was born, which was why her birth pissed the gods off so much.  The first child of one of the Big Three to turn sixteen will be a weapon to save or destroy the age of the Olympians, so they had to make sure she didn’t turn sixteen unless she was on their side. If you knew Thalia, she did her own thing and it wasn’t like she would jump at the chance to prove herself because she didn’t think she needed to.” 

_ She really didn’t, surviving on her own for so long.  _ “Do you think they’ll let me live?” Annabeth didn’t answer. Of course, she had a valid reason like always, because we were coming up on an island with what seemed like a hundred ships docked on her shores, ranging from a pirate ship right out of a movie to a yacht that probably cost more than my block. “Well shit.” 

“Language.” She whispered it more out of reflex than anything because it was clear she was just as shocked as I was. Standing on the shore waving us in was a lady who couldn’t have been much older than eighteen, a brilliant smile on her face that reminded me of the fancy flight attendants in movies, a clipboard in arm that was to check off who had arrived; pirates, rich people, or lost kids. 

“Hello,” the lady greeted and her smile seemed even bigger when she noticed me. Her name tag read  _ Hylla _ and I was surprised I could actually read it. “I’m assuming this is your first time with us, so C.C will want to speak with you personally. After that, of course, you’ll get the full treatment. Definitely an herbal wrap to start for the young lady, though C.C might want to throw in a few extra offers since you’re new. And of course, a complete makeover for the young gentleman, at the very least a haircut.” 

I frowned as I touched my hair, I had always liked it longer so that I could pull it back into a ponytail if I needed to and I didn’t see why that needed to change. “I’ll pass on the hair cut, but a seaweed wrap sounds nice, right Annabeth?” 

“Of course for  _ you _ it does,” she joked with a smile. She elbowed me in the side which seemed to make Hylla lose a little bit of her excitement, but it was back in full before I could tell if that was really what had happened. Maybe we’d been standing too long and she was just in a hurry to help more guests. “Hylla, what do we need all of this stuff for?” 

That seemed to perk her up right away. “The luau of course! We’re roasting a full pig, we’ll have drinks and dancing. Every time the girls’ promise that we won’t have a karaoke event, and every time it happens. It's not a big deal, but you should hear some of them when they get a little too tipsy off of our punch.” She giggled and the sound made me smile, even if I didn’t appreciate the thought of there being alcohol. She waved to guests as we passed, most of them girls getting pampered like queens while I assumed the guys were hanging out in a hot tub somewhere or playing some ball. 

Looking back on it, the fact that there were no boys around should have been my first clue that something was wrong even as we were just walking through. As much as my friends sometimes pretended not to care about that kind of thing, letting someone else take care of our hair was always a nice feeling and there was no way I’d pass up a massage. 

It took until I was standing in front of C.C’s cloth, showing me a different version of myself, that it finally hit me that there was something wrong. In the image she showed me, there were some good things. Like straight, perfectly white teeth, no zits, cooler clothes, a few extra inches of height, and yah my body fit better with the popular kids. But the more I looked, the more I realized how much of me she had changed. My nose wasn’t as wide, my hair wasn’t as curly as it naturally was, my skin was more tan than its natural dark tones. I looked...I looked like a different person. 

“What do you think? Is being  _ this  _ new you something that you want? I can always change it if you don’t like it…” C.C paused as if she expected me to protest, but my hesitation was throwing her. She narrowed her eyes. 

“You can really do that?” I asked, even if it wasn’t something I wanted. 

She relaxed next to me and smiled like the sun. “Of course, I did promise you a full makeover. Now to get there, you’ll need to eat plenty of fresh fruit, which isn’t hard to find on this island, work on a mild exercise program, and of course...this.” She picked up a glass of water and emptied a packet of powder into it, and the glowing made my stomach turn. “One of these instead of lunch every day and in no time, you’ll look exactly like that image I showed you.” 

“That’s really nice, ma’am, but I don’t know. I mean, that’s a big change. And I know I look like this now, but I mean that guy you showed me was like fifteen and I’m not so…” As much as I was sure I didn’t want to drink whatever she was holding, I knew that I was going to have to drink it anyway when her eyes flashed with magic. My limbs refused to move, even my fingers didn’t twitch. I had never been completely still in my entire life and the feeling was awful. 

“Open your mouth, Perseus Jackson, and you’ll be freed from that stupid body of yours.” 

* * *

When they were far away from the island, safe from the pirates and Circe’s magic, Annabeth called me over to where she was looking over the water. “I need to tell you why I hated Tyson, because it wasn’t fair to you to see that and not know why. I won’t apologize for it,” she reminded me,” but I’ll admit that I let some old memories cloud my judgement.” 

“What happened to make you hate him so fast? I mean, I know cyclopes aren’t exactly the most friendly, but you  _ really _ couldn’t stand to be near him.” When she glared at me, I rolled my eyes. “I know, I’m interrupting. I just don’t get it, you know? My mom was scared of him when I was little too, I mean she could see he was a monster and she still took him in. She told me that the reason she knew he wasn’t bad was because he would rather himself get hurt than me. She had more reason than anyone to hate him, I mean a cyclopes lured her into a warehouse when she was dating my dad and he had to save her before she got eaten. She still loves him though.” 

“Did you just say a warehouse?” I flinched at her volume, looking at her in confusion only to see how pale she’d become. “Where was it? Because when we were on the run, we found one and thought it was safe. Then we got lost inside of it, seperated, until I was all alone and found myself facing a cyclopes while Thalia, Grover, and Luke were tied up and waiting to be eaten.”  _ Holy shit _ . “Percy,” she said softly, calming down slightly when she realized I was freaking out slightly. “The reason I hate cyclops isn’t because of that night, but because that slowed us down enough that the hellhounds caught up to us on the hill. If it wasn’t for that thing, Thalia would be alive.” 

I was going to throw up. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” I admitted to her as if I didn’t have any personal stake in that story. “I think I’m going to head to sleep, you okay to take watch for a little while?” I didn’t wait for her response as I made my way down below deck, falling into the first hammock that didn’t look like it’d snap under my weight. 


	14. What if, Percy Knew?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sirens, and cyclopes, a pegasus with a terrible vocabulary, centaurs with weird hats, oh my!

Annabeth woke me up to blinding sunlight, ignoring the tears that were stained on my cheeks and pillow. “We’re approaching the sirens, you need to help me get ready.” I was still foggy from my nightmares and the sun wasn’t helping with the reminders of Kronos’ coffin and Thalia being sucked inside, like she had fallen for Luke not long ago. 

“What are we doing again?” I questioned the streak of blonde hair running across the deck collecting rope, blowing strands out of her eyes and muttering about losing her hair ties. “Annabeth, hold on a second.” She finally paused enough for me to do her hair up quickly and stab a pencil through it to keep it in place. “There, now answer the question.” 

“You first, how did you know how to do that?” I shrugged and she punched me for it, so at least we were back to being semi-normal. “I want to listen to the sirens and when I do, I’ll be drawn in to the point of trying to jump ship. If I break free, they’ll eat me. I need you to tie me up for this.” 

I shook my head through the last of the fog and frowned at her. “And you want to risk your life for this because?” 

She huffed in annoyance like me asking that question was the stupidest thing she’d ever heard. “ _ They say the Sirens sing the truth about what you desire, _ ” she explained quietly. “ _ They tell you things about yourself you didn't even realize. That's what's so enchanting. If you survive… _ ” I raised an eyebrow at that because ifs were not going to convince me. “Shut up, I’ll be fine and then I’ll become wiser.  _ I want to hear them. How often will I get that chance? _ ” 

Her arguments made sense because she’s Annabeth and frustrating like that, but it still took a minute for me to agree to what she wanted. “If you die, I’ll bully my uncle into bringing you back so I can punch you.” 

She just rolled her eyes at me all the way until I had my ears plugged with wax and she was tied to the foremast. She probably would have rolled her eyes at me for struggling so much with the pain on her face when the sirens started, and she would certainly at least yell at me for forgetting to disarm her let alone let her get off the ship. She didn’t exactly have much time between our conversation about hummus versus hubris and her wanting to fix all the problems of the world, because as soon as it ended we were facing the island of the cyclopes. 

After everything we did to rescue our friends, after everything this monster did to Annabeth, and the losses we had to suffer to get to him, after losing Tyson, and Polyphemus honestly thought he could guilt me into not killing him? He was one of the last obstacles between us and saving Thalia’s tree, the last part of her I had. Tyson might be my little brother, but that didn’t make the monster under my feet anything other than disgusting. 

“Your sheep are just as bad as you are. Full on gluttony, filthy, and monstrous.” I stabbed downward before the blind idiot could even think to swat me away. He dissolved into dust until all that was left was his eye, which I gladly kicked away towards the sheep he loved so much. They took to it like the deer. 

Clarisse was looking at him strangely. “I thought you were going to try and spare him for a minute.” She didn’t have time to insult me further before Tyson was there, standing in the middle of flesh eating sheep and petting them gently as he waved to us. 

It was a blur after that, Tyson getting the fleece for us to heal Annabeth with and distracting the sheep so we could make it to the ship. Then of course the ship was cracked in half by one of the boulders Polyphemus had thrown when trying to kill everyone, so we had to figure out calling the  hippocampi to bring us to Miami, but then we’d been gone for ten days and Clarisse was yelling and finally I’d had enough. “Shut up! Fighting isn’t going to get the fleece back in time to save Thalia’s tree. Clarisse, what was the prophecy?” 

“ _ You shall sail the iron ship with warriors of bone, _

_ You shall find what you seek and make it your own, _

_ But despair for your life entombed within stone, _

_ And fail without friends, to fly home alone. _ ”

While everyone else flinched, my mind whirled back to my first quest. “Of course, everything has come true. You would have failed without us to come get you out of the cave, but it's your quest so you have to return alone. Does anyone have any cash?” 

My friends looked confused but Tyson happily handed over the bag he’d found floating. “I found it when I was with the rainbow and remembered the god gave it to us.” I hugged him quickly before handing everything over to Clarisse. “This is enough for a plane ticket back to New York and a taxi to the airport. You’re meant to fly alone, but we’ll be back at camp before you know it. I’ll kill you if we get back and you waited for us.” 

“Why would I do that?” But there was affection in her eyes as she looked at Annabeth and Grover, and something close to respect when she glanced at me, so I figured we were okay. All the way up until we were on Luke’s deck and surrounded by all of his monsters, having saved Thalia’s tree and Chiron, but facing certain death. 

When Luke’s steed was brought out, I flinched at the language coming out of her mouth especially because she was coming up with some creative ways to pay Luke back for what he tried to use her for. “I don’t think she likes you very much, and forced breeding sounds cruel even for you.” Luke glared at me for that, but the mare laughed. She was still laughing when I was laying on the deck wounded and she was freed unexpectedly by an arrow to the throat of one of our captors. 

The party ponies were hilarious, even in their fighting, but I had to shoot one of them a glare for making fun of Tyson’s weight. They made up for it by playing paintball with him, but that was distracting me from the important conversation with Chiron. Finally, I looked at him and voiced the thought in my head that wouldn’t let go. “Thalia and Luke were close once, do you think he was trying to save her with the fleece? Bring her back from the dead?” His tail flicked nervously so I pushed it in fear that he would turn his words into riddles I couldn’t understand. “But that’s impossible, right? The fleece can only heal what’s alive….right?”


	15. What If, Percy Was “Baby”?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With our heroes back at camp, life seems to be getting back to normal. As normal as can be when healing magic is in the air, that is....

When we got back, I could barely focus on anything else. I could see the damage to the camp as it was everywhere, the Apollo campers were going crazy since they were the best healers in the camp but they were dead on their feet and looked worse than we did. I saw that the arts and crafts cabin had been burned down but I didn’t really hear who ever answered when Annabeth asked because I was staring at her tree. It was still dying.... _ She was still dying. _

We all gathered around the tree for some reason like there had to be a ceremony for this instead of rushing to just  _ heal her _ because the  _ show _ was so much more important than her life. I knew none of them knew how much she meant to me or why I took the loss of someone like Tyson so hard but they were both my family and I couldn’t lose them both. At least Thalia was okay within the tree, I just couldn’t touch her or feel her curl around me when I was upset or come home to find her sitting on the counter as she burned her tongue on hot cookies. The memories blurred the image of everyone watching the tree, tears threatening to burn my cheeks as I watched. I refused to let them fall and instead watched with a prayer hanging on my lips as Clarisse stepped forward with the fleece. 

The second the Gold Fleece touched the lowest bough, my muscles relaxed. The moon seemed to shine brighter, from the color of one of those old movies my mom liked to watch with her to the color of actual silver. The sigh of a breeze flowed through the branches and tickled the grass, all the way down to the cabins. Everything cleared - the glow of thousands of fireflies in the woods, the smell of the strawberry fields left over from them cooking in the sunlight, the sound of the waves crawling up the beach as if it wanted to watch too. 

I almost cried again when I saw the needles gradually turning from brown to green. It started with one and then two and four and...it went on as it slowly worked its way from where the fleece lay to the top. 

Everyone cheered for their protective tree. But there were the small few who cheered for Thalia, the girl inside that we loved. Even if it was slower than we wanted, there couldn’t be any doubt - the Fleece’s magic was seeping into the tree, filling it with new power and leaving no room for the poison. 

Chiron ordered a twenty four/seven guard duty on the hilltop that I had to restrain myself from volunteering for, there would be time to talk to her when no one else was around. I almost breathed a sigh of relief when Chiron said he was going to get a beast to watch the tree and was going to place an ad in  _ Olympus Weekly _ straight away. A beast, something that couldn’t spill my secrets to the camp. At least I hoped not. 

With all the terror and bated breath holding over, Clarisse was free to be carried on her cabin mate’s shoulders down to the amphitheater, where she would be honored with a laurel wreath and a lot of celebrating.  _ Nobody, ha get it? Nobody? No? _ , gave Annabeth or me a second look. It was as if we’d never snuck out of camp. In a way, I guess that they were thanking us in the best way they could, because if they actually admitted we’d left camp without permission to do the quest, they’d have to expel us. And not only did I not want the attention, I was really sick of getting expelled. It felt good to just be one of the campers for once and watch someone else get all the praise. 

It was later that night as we were roasting s’mores and listening to the Stoll brothers tell us a ghost story about an evil king who got eaten alive by demonic breakfast pastries (we all got a kick out of that one), Clarisse decided it was the perfect time to shove me from behind and make it clear that just “cause you were cool one time, Jackson” didn’t mean I was cool with her or her father. She still wanted to pulverize me. All she got was a grudging smile in return. 

“What?” she demanded, like it was the weirdest thing to see someone smile at her. Probably was. 

“Nothing,” I shrugged as I gave her my troublemaker smile, loving how her lips twitched in response like they wanted to try something besides scowling for a change. “Just feels good to be home.” 

After my meeting with Hermes the day before, I was ready to either knock a jerk off his chariot with a spear or pass out. I was miserable with how little sleep I got between thinking about my dad’s warning and debating whether I was right or not about Luke. He loved Thalia, didn’t he? Why would he hurt her unless he knew we would get the Fleece to the tree? My head hurt from all the back and forth, so I tried to force myself to think about the race. It was easier than dwelling on cryptic jerks. 

Tyson didn’t want to ride, so he put in his third by putting a lot of work into the Athena chariot. It gleamed with bronze reinforcements and the wheels were fixed with magical suspension so we would basically glide across the track. I didn’t understand half of it but it made a pretty sweet ride. And the rigging was so perfectly balanced that the horses did what you wanted with the slightest tug. 

With everything he’d done, he’s given us three gifts. Annabeth and I each got a spear with special functions and I got a wrist watch just before we were supposed to start. It looked like a regular one, with a white and silver clock face and a black leather strap. I realized with a start that this is what he’d been working on all summer. When I went to thank him, he apologized for not making it in time for the quest. 

“If you need protection in race, hit the button.” He said it like a wise old man in one of those commercials that was trying to sell you some kind of insurance. I hated to doubt the guy, but I couldn’t figure out how a watch would protect me. 

“Thanks big guy, we’ll win this one for you bro.” I climbed on the chariot and was just barely in position before Chiron blew the starting signal. It was a close race at the end with the Hephaestus cabin almost getting us with greek fire, but Tyson’s watch was the perfect defense and turned out to switch to a shield. 

When we finally came to a halt after clearing the finish line, our friends mobbed us. They started chanting our names and trying to drown out Annabeth’s calls but she  _ made _ herself heard. “We couldn’t have done it without somebody else really important! We couldn’t have done this or gotten the Fleece or rescued Grover or anything else! We owe everything to Tyson, Percy’s...” 

“Brother!” I knew I’d said it before, but that’s what he was. And I wanted the entire camp to hear. “Tyson, my baby brother.” Of course Tyson was blushing worse than when he came home with a girlfriend and tried to offer her a peanut butter sandwich. The crowd was cheering and it only got louder as Annabeth planted a kiss on my cheek. I don’t know how, but the entire Athena cabin lifted the three of us onto their shoulders and carried us to the winner's platform where Chiron was waiting to give us  _ our _ victory wreaths. 

That afternoon was one of the best of my life and possibly one of the best I’d ever spent at camp. Grover announced that he’d be able to hang out with us for the rest of the summer before he continued his search for Pan. The “bosses” at the Council of Cloven Elders were really impressed with him and how he hadn't gotten eaten or killed by something else, even paving the way for future searchers (like Grover  _ wasn’t _ going to be the one to find Pan), that they let him stay and gave him a new set of reed pipes. That was the only bad news, as he wanted to play them straight away. 

Chiron even cleared me from all charges by the police, simply suggesting that they hadn’t seen what they thought they had. In reality they hadn’t seen what he said either, but I was okay with them not knowing that. He even let me borrow his cellphone to call my mom. That call scared me more than Polyphemus. I was hoping the worst part was going to be the beginning - the “Percy-Jackson-what-were-you-thinking-do-you-have-any-idea-how-worried-I’ve-been-for-you-two-sneaking-off-to-camp-without-permission-going-on-dangerous-quests-scaring-me-half-to-death-and-dragging-your-baby-brother-into-this-mess-you-know-how-much-he-idolizes-you” part. 

But then she just just paused to catch her breath and was clearly pinching the bridge of her nose on the other end of the line. “Oh, I’m just glad you two boys are safe!” That’s one of the great things about my mom. She’s no good at staying angry with the two of us. She tries, but it isn’t in her nature. 

“I’m sorry, Mom.” I told her as I noticed Tyson running over because he probably was told she was calling. “I won’t scare you again, promise, and I won’t drag Tyson into it. Again.” I cringed as Tyson rolled his eye. He held out his hand but I held up my finger and mouthed, “One second.” I just got the phone and I wanted  _ my _ mom time. 

I could almost see her shaking her head on the other end of the line, looking up at the ceiling like it had prophecies written on it instead of a ketchup stain and that dent from when I broke the toaster. “You can’t promise me that, Percy. We both know very well that it will only get worse and Tyson would  _ follow  _ you into hell. There is no stopping you boys.” She tried to sound joking about that, but I could tell she was pretty shaken up about almost losing all three of us. Thalia,  _ again _ . 

I wanted to tell her something to make her feel better but my mom was always right. Having a halfblood and a cyclops for kids meant we would always be doing this that scared her. And as we got older, it would just get worse. I put her on speaker as I said, “I could come home for a while, Tyson too. He’s standing next to me right now Mom.” Tyson’s demeanor changed as I said we could come home, but I brushed it off as something for later. 

“Hello baby, I love you and I’m glad you're safe. But you boys have to stay at camp. Train or build defenses, I heard you put your skills to use, Baby. No more  _ fixing  _ the microwave.” Tyson turned red as I laughed. “Anyway, you two do what you need to do. But you  _ will  _ come home for the next school year?” 

“Yeah, of course, Uh, if there’s any schools that will take a kid that was investigated by the police  _ twice  _ into two years.” I glanced at Tyson and scrunched my eyebrows when he wouldn’t look at me. But then mom was answering. 

“Oh we’ll find something, hun,” my mother sighed into the phone. “Some place where they don’t know us yet. Put your brother on, would you? I would like to talk to him.” 

Speaking of Tyson, the campers treated him like a hero. I was excited to hang out with him all summer and share a room like when we went to Montauk. But as we were sitting on one of the sand dunes by the Sound a few hours after he got an earful from mom, I was happy about that since I was usually the one getting yelled at since I was older, he told me something that ripped my heart in two and took me completely by surprise. 

“I got a dream from Dad last night,” he said shyly, like he was going to tell me he accidentally burned my homework with a project. “He wants me to visit.” It took me a minute to realize he wasn’t kidding. 

“Dad sent you a dream message?” I didn’t know what to do as I tried to process that second part. Of course we’d both seen dad one or two times at Montauk talking with mom but he never talked to us after that first time when we were kids. He never could.

Tyson nodded slowly. “Wants me to go underwater for the rest of the summer and learn to work with other Cyclopes. He called it an internship.” He said the last part with a little bite to it, though he was probably just upset about something else. 

I let that sink in and I’ll admit I felt a little jealous. I only got a measly two words and he gets an entire damn conversation? Just because I’m the oldest doesn’t mean I don’t want as much attention. “When...when would you leave?” 

“Now.” Before I could freak out he got up and put his hands up defensively. “Already talked to momma and she said okay but want you to be okay with this because it’s dad and...” I reached out to pull him over to me and I was suddenly encased in one of his bone crushing hugs. “But I want to make things, protect you. Camp needs them and I want to repay you. For giving me family. Repay momma for giving me a brother.” 

I almost cried right then and there as I realized how hard this was for him and how good a person he was. How could my brother be called a monster? He was better than most humans. “Okay, just...be careful okay? Make sure they give you lots of peanut butter.” We both laughed as we pulled away, remembering the secret stash he had in his room for when he was working on a big project. “You’ll make the best weapons ever.” I grinned cheekily as I held up my wrist. “I bet they’ll tell time too.” 

“And the people who will get them will be able to read time!” I whacked his arm as we laughed again. “Use the shield well. It’ll save your life one day.” When he said it so matter-of-factly I had to wonder if his eye could see into the future and it was just us lowly humans with two who couldn’t. 

We hugged again and did a quick handshake that we made up when we were eight. I watched him wade into the water and whistle for Rainbow, waving goodbye one last time before disappearing into the waves. I didn’t notice until now, but he had my old boy scouts duffle bag with him. I was ready to sob when I couldn’t see him anymore. 

“Hey Percy.” When I turned, there was Annabeth and Grover standing at the top of the sand dune. I was blinking a lot and I told myself it was from the sand, it was just the sand. Totally just the sand that somehow got in my eyes 

“Tyson...He decided to...” I choked on my words as they walked over to where I was, unsure of how to deal with me right now.. “He had to...” The words burned my throat. 

“We know, Chiron told us.” Annabeth spoke softly, like she was scared stronger words would hurt me more. 

“Cyclops forges,” Grover shuddered and apparently from more than his fear of them. “I hear their cafeteria food is  _ terrible _ ! Like, not even  _ one _ enchilada!” 

Annabeth held out her hand. “Come on Seaweed Brain. It’s time for dinner.” 

We walked back up the dunes to the dining pavilion together. Just the three of us. Like old times, and I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. 

A storm raged war on the earth that night as it lashed out at everything but Camp because of the Fleece. My dreams were rough, even though it was eerily calm outside my cabin. Still, I woke with a start when Grover started banging on the door. He flew inside without permission. “Percy!” he stammered while he caught his breath. “Annabeth...on the hill..she...” 

I barely had time to process what he was saying as my mind raced.  _ Thalia, tree, Annabeth. Danger, protect. _ I ripped off the covers, my blood colder than the depths of the ocean. I threw on random clothes as Grover tried to tell me what happened. “She’s lying there...just lying there...” 

I burst past Grover and raced outside across the central yard, Grover right behind me as he broke out of his daze. The sun was just peaking up above the water but the whole camp seemed to be waking up. Word was spreading. Something huge was happening and I had two very good ideas about what could have happened. I was hoping it was the first one, I wasn’t sure I could lose someone else. A few campers were already making their way to the hill with satyrs and nymphs and heroes all in a random state of dress. From armor to pajamas to a strange combination of both. 

When Chiron was heard behind us, I tried to ask him what was going on but he had quickly asked Grover a question to which he responded with a dazed nod. Chiron just grabbed me by the arm and effortlessly lifted me onto his back. We thundered up the hill to where a small crowd had gathered. “Curse the Titan lord. He’s tricked us again.” When I looked confused, he continued. “He wanted another chance to control the prophecy. So the Fleece has done it’s work too well.” 

_ Thalia...She’s... _ The crowd parted for us and I barely had time to register what was happening before Annabeth was with us and her and Chiron were talking. “It...she...just appeared...” She had tears streaming down her cheeks, I couldn’t tell if it was from fear or happiness. 

I ignored their calls to wait as I charged forward and looked at the unconscious girl on the ground. She looked exactly as I remembered, even though a little older. Her hair was cut shorter and her freckles had disappeared from all but across her nose. She was still strong, lithe and wearing her regular black jeans she ripped herself and the leather jacket mom gave her for winter with all the buttons from her favorite bands and the states she visited. I didn’t even notice Grover appearing till I heard his voice. I was the only one who went close to her as I touched my hand to her forehead. It was cold but my fingers felt like they were burning. “She needs nectar and ambrosia.” When no one moved, I pulled her into my arms and struggled to stand but I still made it. “What’s wrong with you all? She needs to get to the big house!” 

And then I felt her stir in my arms, my breath catching in my lungs. I moved so she was just leaning on me instead of being carried, my arms sending a thank you to my brain. She opened her eyes and I almost cried. They were the perfect shade of electric blue. She took a shaky breath as she moved to stand on her own but then her hands were on my cheeks. “Percy? You look so old. When did you grow up?” She traced the scar on my nose from when I tripped on her spear and ran into the table. “Do you remember me?” 

I broke down from everything then as I threw myself into her arms, toppling both of us over. She sat up with me in her lap even though she was only a little older than me then and I was her size. “I thought you were dead.” 

Thalia just ran her hands through my hair as she kissed my face all over and whispered to me. “I’m okay. Baby I’m right here. I’m okay, baby. I’m right here. I promise I’m not leaving you again.” She hugged me as tight as her strength would let her. “Baby, I’m right here and I love you so much. Oh gods, we’re old now aren’t we?” 

I laughed into her shoulder. “Just you Thals.” 


	16. What If, Annabeth Didn’t Know?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annabeth doesn't like not knowing things and the fact that her best friend knew (knows?) Thalia, that's a big thing to be unaware of.

“WHAT THE HELL?!?!” Annabeth charged into the infirmary to find Thalia mid laugh while I sat cross legged across from her. “Why do you know her and why do you keep calling him baby? What is going on here and what...just what?” 

Thalia reached over and pinched my cheek, easily pulling away before I could bat her hand. “Because as old as he has gotten, he still is my baby. Tyson too but he was always a big kid. Where is he anyway? Is he at home with Aunt Sally?” 

“Tyson is actually with Dad right now. My dad.” When her mouth fell into an “o”, I raced to continue. “Mom is very aware of what’s going on...OH GODS WE HAVE TO TELL MOM YOU’RE ALIVE! She is going to  _ kill _ you.” 

Thalia whacked my arm lightly. “She is not, she loves you more than me anyway.” She pulled me into a hug and kissed my forehead again, climbing out of the bed. “You explain yourself to Annie and Grover, who I am ecstatic to see by the way, while I call Aunt Sally. Same number?” 

I nodded with a goofy smile before turning to face my friends. Apparently Annabeth wasn’t the only curious one. “Thalia is my cousin, considering our parentage. But what you don’t know is that we’ve known each other for a while...actually, longer than you have. You know how my mom adopted Tyson when he was little, right? Well he wanted to play with Thalia once when we were at a park and she saw a monster so...here meets the cousins. Mom adopted her into the family. She’d actually visit while you guys were a group. Anyway, yeah. She’s basically like my sister.” 

Thalia’s voice floated through the doorway from the phone call she was making in the hall. “Aunt Sally, I promise I will come home to visit but I am kind of on bed rest.....” She flinched as I imagined Mom’s response to that. She was well aware that only Chiron had a phone and the infirmary was near his office. “Okay, okay! Percy will drag me to visit and then he can drag Tyson out of the ocean to come say hi to me.” She laughed as Mom probably joked about what Dad would say. “Do...do you think we can go to Montauk and see him there?” 

My eyes widened as she looked at me, silently asking me for permission. “Yes, yes!” I scrambled off the bed and ran into the hallway so I could snatch the phone away from her. “Mom, she has to come! Oh, and Grover too! I was going to invite him last year but you know all the crazy stuff that happened!” 

Thalia grabbed the phone back. “And...Aunt Sally? Can Annabeth come too? Or does Percy have to invite her for it to be okay?” I turned a dark shade of red while Thalia and Mom hollered, the others just sitting there in confusion. Why did I think her coming back to life was a good idea? 

Annabeth had been a little unsure of everything until Tyson was allowed to come back for a visit, Thalia ruffling his hair and being extremely calm even though as far as Annabeth knew, Thalia was terrified of cyclops. “Look at you! You got a haircut and let me guess, Aunt Sally made you get braces? You grew up without me, that’s totally unfair.” 

“Mom had to pay me in peanut butter to get me to go to the dentist, which turned out to be a terrible idea on her part because for one, peanut butter and braces. And two, I started demanding she pay me in peanut butter for everything. And then my friend gave me nutella for my birthday...I think we went broke for a week.” Tyson laughed as I groaned from the memories and Thalia rolled her eyes. “And then there was this...” 

I had him in a wrestler's hold in seconds, his face to the dirt. “We never speak of that again or I will use your room as a fish tank, raid your stash and burn it in front of you.” My face was burning from the remainder of the most embarrassing summer of my life, one where Tyson was good with the girls because he wanted to be friends and I liked the water. I can still see mom laughing on the beach and hear her lecturing us later. 

Tyson flipped me off him and stuck his tongue out. “Fight me bro, you’ll lose and we both know it. Besides, I happen to have fond memories of that summer, thank you very much.” Of course  _ he _ would, he was the one who looked cool in the end while I was the loser covered in sand. 

Thalia was laughing, her eyes crinkling in the corners and her tongue sticking out slightly. If the world was going to end, I was just glad I had my family back to fight it together. 

“Dinner is served!” Mom handed out plates to everyone while we spread out the blanket, enjoying the cool air and the stars that seemed to be never ending. “We’re having barbecue tonight so I’m trusting that there is going to be nothing on this blanket when we all get up.” She waved a carrot stick at the two of us, Tyson holding his hands up to be non aggressive. “Also, let us pack up the beach if you three are going to fight again.” 

“I just got back! Do you really think we’ll kill each other tonight of all nights?” Thalia raised an eyebrow but screamed a few minutes after that she was going to rip our heads off. “Put me down in the sand! If you throw me in that water I will electrocute you both!” Tyson had her slung over his shoulder and waded in to about his knees before letting me grab her feet. 

“ONE!” I laughed as she held onto Tyson’s wrists. “TWO!” She closed her eyes. “Three!” We threw her in an area that was slightly deeper but was all sand so she wouldn’t get hurt. We raced back to the blanket, tackling Annabeth. “Your turn!” 

She laughed as she called for help, demanding Grover protect her food with his life before she was quickly dunked as well. “I will get you for that, Seaweed Brain!” She tackled me into the water, shoving my head under when I tried to get up. “That’s what you…woaaah!!” 

I grabbed her waist and sent us flying back so we were away from everyone else, floating with our own bubble around our feet. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Thalia, to be fair, I didn’t know it was you until that Zoo ride to Los Angeles.” I dried her off a little so she wouldn’t be so cold, but I still thought it was funny when her hair would drip on her nose so it would scrunch up to make her face look all weird. 

“I’m not mad at you, I just don’t...I didn’t know how you could possibly be family. You’d tear each other apart if you ever met, I kept thinking. But then when she grabbed you like she would never let you go again...Being with you guys here makes me feel stupid for not believing you. You three act like you grew up together.” 

I brought us back, hugging her quickly before stealing a fry off her plate. When she got mad, I gave her one of mine. She was smiling again. 


	17. What If, Sally Was Her Mom Too?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Westover is the same old gothic horror, but not everything is as it seems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to try to be more detailed with my writing from here on out, I think that's why i was having a hard time with previous chapters. Because of this though, I might have to pull some information from the text in direct quotes. Anything BOLDED is direct quote from the original text and is property of Rick Riordan.

I almost wished, in that moment, that my mom hadn’t let me leave school a day early for winter break. That morning she’d help me throw together an overnight bag and an emergency backpack, partially filled with deadly weapons as that’s the sort of thing every eighth grader needs when going to a new boarding school. 

Annabeth and Thalia were going with me, I was glad to have them, but we didn’t talk much in the eight hours it took to get to Bar Harbor, Maine, since the looming knowledge of what we had to do was suffocating. My mom had no such qualms since she tended to talk  _ more _ when she was nervous. “You should have seen the look on his father's face when I told him off for trying to flirt with me, I think that’s when he honestly started to like me.” She was always the storyteller and had been sharing random ones about our past to keep the silence away. At least she had finally moved on from the embarrassing baby stories, like my first bath and my first words and all that. 

“Hey mom?” Thalia was reclining in the back seat with me, but I was pressed against a window and she was taking up the rest of it. “Can you tell us the one about how Percy found Tyson?” It was still strange to see her only a year or two older than me, when she had always been this larger than life storm that swept in and out of our lives as often as she pleased. Not to mention thinking she was dead for so long. 

Mom turned her head back to smile at us softly for a second. “Of course, Thals.” She turned back to the road quickly to avoid hitting something in all the sleet and snow, but cleared her throat to begin the story. “Percy was about five and he needed to get outside more often than not, I was planning a wedding then and he was bored constantly, so I took him to the park for some fresh air. I was on the phone with the mother of the groom when I realized who Percy was playing with wasn’t human…” We didn’t talk about Gabe much anymore, not even in stories. It wasn’t ever  _ her _ wedding, it was  _ a _ wedding. It wasn’t ever  _ Gabe _ , it was a  _ guy _ or the groom. It was easier to pretend he had never been in our lives than to think about all he had done to ruin it. 

I was brought out of my thoughts when we pulled into the parking lot of Westover Hall, which honestly looked like it came out of a Hot Topic magazine or a horror movie. Black stone, gothic architecture (Annabeth was mumbling under her breath to keep calm), and it stood between a cliff and a dark forest.  _ Yeah, that’s not a bad sign at all. _

“Thanks for the ride, Mrs. Jackson.” 

Thalia stepped in before Mom could reply, herding us towards the double doors. “Yeah, thanks mom! We’ve got everything we need, you helped Percy pack so we’re all set. Love you!” When Mom’s face finally relaxed slightly, we knew we were good to go and shuffled inside. “Thank the gods, she never would have let us inside if we stayed out there any longer.” 

I hummed in agreement as I looked around the hall, shivering even inside and away from the wind. “No wonder he sent a distress call,  _ I’m _ distressed just looking at this place.” Annabeth punched my arm and Thalia whapped my head, but I probably deserved it in their minds so I didn’t argue. “Where is—?” 

The doors slammed shut behind us and seemed to take all of the air with it. As horror movie-esque the outside looked, the inside of Westover reeked of danger and it wasn’t trying to hide behind fun banners and school mottos.  **The walls were lined with battle flags and weapon displays: antique rifles, battle axes, and a bunch of other stuff. **

I pulled riptide out of my pocket and let my right hand fiddle with it like a “cool dude” would a coin, searching as far as I could see for the source of the danger. Thalia was rubbing her bracelet that turned into a shield, so I knew she was on board with whatever I was sensing. “We need to find Grover before someone sees us.” 

“Too late,” Thalia hissed as she quickly hid our things behind a pillar and marched us forward to intercept the voices coming from the end of the hall before our hiding place was exposed. Better to be caught further in than besides the door, it makes the lies easier. When the two figures came into view, it was clear that they were some sort of authority in the school with military haircuts and  ** black military-style uniforms with red trim. ** Both the man and the woman were at least in their fifties, which shouldn’t have made them more terrifying but it did. The woman was the taller of the two, but maybe that was just because of her hair, with a light mustache while the man was predatorial with two toned eyes and a nose than meant he was always looking down at you. “Sir, ma’am. We were just making our way to the dance.” 

"Ha!" the man laughed, a harsh one syllable that made us jump. Well, Annabeth and me. Thalia didn’t even flinch, she was used to adults snapping at her just for speaking so it wasn’t a surprise.  **"Visitors are not allowed at the dance! You shall be eee-jected!"** The way he talked reminded me of the Canadian substitute we had one time at Yancy Academy, though his was more snobbish. 

Thalia stepped forward with a raised eyebrow and perfect posture, careful not to be too threatening. “But sir,” she whispered as she brought her fingers up to snap in front of the adults. I had only seen her do this trick once before and that was a long time ago. “We’re not visitors, we’re students just looking for the dance.  **You remember: I'm Thalia. And this is Annabeth and Percy. We're in the eighth grade** .” 

Before the male teacher could yell at us for lying to him, because for some reason her trick didn’t seem to be working on him, the woman started nodding slowly. “Yes, yes, of course. I’m just surprised you’re so far from the gymnasium, I expected better of you. Run along now and don’t let us catch you wandering again.” 

“Of course ma’am, we’ll be in the gymnasium.” Annabeth shooed us away from the teachers like she thought one of us was going to start arguing with them about how ridiculous it was to think we would behave, which we aren’t that stupid. If we let the teacher think we’re good students, it’ll be easier to hide from them later. 

I stopped once the adults were gone to finish their rounds, finally relaxing against the wall. “That was close, why didn’t you use the mist sooner?” 

Thalia snorted while Annabeth glared at me like I was in trouble. “I had to be closer since there were so few targets. Hasn't Chiron shown you how to do that yet, or at least talked to you about it?" When I failed at keeping my face neutral, she ruffled my hair like the awful cousin she was. “I’ll tell you about it later, when we’re not in danger.” 

Luckily I didn’t have time to get into an argument with her about my hair as Grover barreled into us at that point, hugging the girls enthusiastically before wrinkling his nose like they smelled bad. “You ran into the teachers? That must have been close! Thank the gods you didn’t get caught!" He quickly gave us a rundown of what was happening, and honestly two half-bloods in one place was amazing enough as it was, but it didn’t surprise me that Dr. Thorn was the monster. 

“He did look like he wanted to eat us when he threatened to kick us out,” I joked lightly but Grover only shuffled nervously in response. Okay, that was probably bad timing, all things considered. 

I knew Westover was a military school, but I was not prepared for the sheer stereotype of it all. All of the balloons and streamers were the same red and black of the uniforms, and there was a teacher standing guard at every door to prevent students from leaving without permission. Every once and a while one of them would disappear with a student, probably to walk them to the bathroom or something. The younger boys were playing with the decorations out of boredom, the younger girls huddled on the bleachers giggling about something or other, while the guys my age were doing what I would do. Dribbling a ball around and looking uncomfortable. Every so often one of the less terrifying older girls would walk over and talk to them, maybe play for a minute before walking away. 

“That’s them, isn’t it?” Thalia nodded her head towards the part of the bleachers closest to the door where two younger kids were huddled together looking like they would rather be anywhere else. “Brother and sister?”

Grover nodded. "Bianca and Nico di Angelo, twelve and ten.” Bianca** wore a floppy green cap, like she was trying to hide her face. They both had dark silky hair and olive skin, and they used their hands a lot as they talked** so I figured they were probably Italian or at least had family from there**. **Nico was the more uncomfortable of the two, shuffling and organizing some sort of trading cards in between sentences. **His sister seemed to be scolding him about something**, probably trying to get him to put the cards away**. She kept looking around like she sensed something was wrong.**

A door shut close to us as a group of teachers entered, probably to take over for the ones already there. “We need to get them out of here before they figure out what they are or something else does. What’s the closest exit outside?” Thalia was fixing the pins on her jacket, so I knew she was nervous and trying to hide it. 

“We’re being watched, Thorn just came in with those other teachers,” Annabeth warned us in a whisper, smiling as though nothing was wrong. “Don't look at the kids, we’ll have to wait for when his back is turned or he’s distracted. We need to pretend we're not interested in them or he’ll figure out who they are. Throw him off the scent, dance and look like we’re here to have fun."

Thalia snorted. “You expect  _ Percy _ to dance? Have fun with that, I’m taking Grover.” She paused as a new song came on and made a face at Grover. “Really? Jesse McCartney?" He frowned at her in response and she huffed.  **"Oh my gods, Grover. That is so lame. Can't you play, like, Green Day or something?"**

** "Green who?"**

** "Never mind. Let's dance."**

** "But I can't dance!"**

** "You can if I'm leading," Thalia said. "Come on, goat boy."**

I gave him a pitying look as he tried to get me to help him, but they were gone before I could do anything about it. I turned to Annabeth to talk to her, but got distracted by a few things I hadn’t noticed before now. She was taller than me, for one, which was a bit frustrating, and she had gotten her ears pierced over the summer. She was wearing little silver earrings shaped like owls, probably because she wanted to wear something for both her parents. 

It was weird seeing her look older, like she would fit in with the girls with strappy dresses and heels hunting through the gym for victims. It made me uncomfortable.  **“Um, design any good buildings lately?”**

I knew it was a cheap shot because Annabeth could talk about architecture until her voice was gone and then she might even have learned enough sign language to keep going after even that. She jumped on the opportunity to tell me all about the cool electives she was able to take and the upgraded computer programs and did she mention that something about structural supports and facades? I was trying to listen, but I couldn’t understand half of what she was saying because of all of the technical stuff. So I just leaned against the gym wall and watched her explain to me how amazing her new school was. 

“And I know it was disappointing that you couldn’t see Thalia and me as much as we expected, though I’m glad that they have a phone for us to call with because I would have  _ died _ without someone else to talk to. None of the other girls our age are that interesting, though there are a few in junior high that are nice. Anyway, how's MS-54 in Manhattan?” 

I shrugged. It was a school and I was forced to go to it without my brother, my cousin, or my best friends. “It’s fine. So have you decided to stay for the rest of the year?” I raised an eyebrow when her face went neutral, which meant she was trying to hide something from me. 

“We should probably start dancing or someone is going to notice us.” Annabeth said. “Well?”

** “Um, who should I ask?”**

** She punched me in the gut. “Me, Seaweed Brain.” **

At least she was back to normal.  **“Oh. Oh, right.”** ****

Dancing with Annabeth was different. My mom had taught me how to dance when I was younger and Thalia had tried to show me when she came into our lives, but that was nothing compared to the awkwardness of trying with a girl who was my age and also my friend. She teased me for it of course, but she was blushing lightly so I didn’t take too much offense. 

“So…” 

When she didn’t keep talking, I tried to come up with something. “We were talking about you going back to school in Brooklyn, but it didn’t seem like you were too excited about it. What happened?” 

“Nothing school related, it's just I might not be in New York to  _ go _ to school. My dad took  **this stupid new job researching for a World War I book. In San Francisco!” ** The way she said it made me think that she was more angry about the location than the actual moving part, or maybe I was just reading too much into it. It was easier to think about than the fact that I had my hands on her hips and we were swaying slightly like we were dating. 

I swallowed nervously. “Are you going to go with him, or stay at camp like you used to? You could always stay with my mom if there wasn’t another option…” 

She smiled sadly at me and that feeling of danger was back. “I probably should tell you something...I—” she froze before she could say anything else, twisting out of my hands until she was standing in front of me and my hands were hanging awkwardly at my sides. “They're gone, the two of them are gone.” 

“Well shit, are you sure?” 

**“We have to get Thalia and Grover!"** she decided instead of answering me, and sure enough when she moved enough for me to see there was no one on the bleachers by the exit. “Thalia probably went to get food because they’re both always hungry, come on!” She plowed through a group of girls that I was not interested in pissing off, so I went around. Of course she was gone by then and I couldn’t see her or Grover anywhere. Luckily, I saw Thalia. Unluckily, she was holding something that told me all I needed to know. 

Bianca’s green floppy hat and a few discarded training cards were quickly shoved into her pockets before she turned to the door, motioning me over quietly. I was about to listen when I caught a glimpse of Dr. Thorn hurrying out a door at the opposite end of the gym, steering the di Angelo kids by the collars of their shirts. He knew who they were.

Thalia and I met at the door right as he disappeared, sharing a knowing look. “No time to get Annabeth, we can hold him off until she finds us.” 

“She’s going to be so pissed,” I pointed out but followed her anyway.


	18. What If Thalia Left Too?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thalia and Percy try to save the di Angelo's by themselves, but saving someone who doesn't trust you is always harder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi y'all! I'm tentatively back to a weekly updating schedule, but I do have finals in December. I'm going to try to write a few chapters ahead over American Thanksgiving, so even if I do fall behind there's a cushion. As always, comments on what you like and things you want to see are always appreciated! Comments about spelling errors, maybe something you're confused by, those help as well! 
> 
> Thank you to all who have stuck with this story.

“He’s either taking them into the woods or off the cliff, so be ready for either. He doesn’t want attention.” Thalia took the lead as we moved through the shadows of the dark hallway, silent after the one reminder from her. 

That was, of course, until I heard the sound of shuffling down the hall and then someone grunting in pain.  _ That’s out cue _ , I thought tiredly as I uncapped Riptide and it became a reassuring weight in my hand. I stopped Thalia from going through the last door because I could see the shields of the front entry, we’d be completely unprotected. I had a habit of counting exits and doors from living with Gabe, then Thalia drilling me in the same way. Military schools were smart, multiple exits and entrances, but not too many that they can’t watch them all. Offices had one point of entry, the door, and windows as exits if necessary. When I had the chance to look around, I noticed there were mostly classrooms or storage towards the gym, so I just needed to count until the last one. When we finally got to a classroom door that I liked, we used it as a passage to get to the main hall without alerting them to our presence.

There, next to some lockers, were the di Angelo’s. Bianca was guarding Nico from something and since they weren’t looking our way, I figured Dr. Thorn was around somewhere. I tapped the back of Thalia’s hand twice, once on the knuckles and once near her wrist. She moved along the wall, backup if I needed it. 

** "My name's Percy," I said, trying to keep my voice level. "I'm going to take you out of here, get you somewhere safe."** Of course that was a bit hard when there was something attacking me, and I had to thank Bianca for the warning when we were out of there. I spun around just in time to catch the movement of a projectile and slice it in half, though half of it caught my hoodie and slammed me against the wall. I was pinned, but thankfully unharmed. I could hear the sizzling of the fabric next to my head, it was coated in some sort of poison or venom

Dr. Thorn growled, either in some monster form of a laugh or he was annoyed that I was unharmed, Probably a mix of the two, I had a tendency of pissing my attackers off in the first few minutes. “Perseus Jackson, how heroic coming out here to save them even if you did fail.”  **A second projectile shot from somewhere behind Dr. Thorn. Next to me, Bianca yelped. The second thorn impaled itself in the stone wall, half an inch from her face. ** “Tell your compatriot to come out of the shadows, or I won’t miss next time.” 

Thalia snarled at him as she moved next to me, positioning herself at the head of the pack. “I almost wish I had put a muzzle on you when we first arrived, but that would have stopped us from having all this one on one time.” 

**"All ** four ** of you will come with me," ** Dr. Thorn commanded, ignoring Thalia’s remarks even as his eyebrows twitched in annoyance **. "Quietly. Obediently. If you make a single noise, if you call out for help or try to fight, I will show you just how accurately I can throw."** He marched us towards the doors and out into the cold while Thalia and I exchanged looks out of his sight. She tapped my shoulder three times before gesturing to the kids, and even though I didn’t like my part in the plan, it made the most sense. 

Faster than a blink, Thalia called the static in the air towards her for one blow strong enough to temporarily stun Dr. Thorn’s turned back. “Move!” She raced forward to catch up with him while I grabbed the kids, dragging them into the tree line behind a shield of ice as whatever monster Dr. Thorn was seemed to never run out of ammo. 

“Stay here, only move if someone tries to hurt you or whatever. I have to go help Thalia.” I stamped my foot like a whiny child, creating a larger shield for them to stay behind as the ground turned to water around my feet, helping me join the fight in seconds. “Did anyone ever tell you that you’re a bit old to attack children? What are you going to do, crack your bones at us?” 

A snort to my left reminded me this wasn;t exactly the best time, even if it was funny. “Baby, I think we need your girlfriend.” 

I rolled a spike impaled the ground where I was standing and covered myself enough that the others didn’t hit me either. “She isn’t my girlfriend, Thals. And stop calling me baby, you’re only two years older than me now. It was nice when you first came back but now—” 

Dr. Thorn howled in outrage as he revealed his true form, a manticore. “You insolent fools! I will take you to the General and he will force you to fight for us. The Great Stirring of monsters is underway and you are needed for the army to take down Olympus. Either with your help, or by  _ being target practice _ .” He sent out a slew of spikes that forced us to dive far out of his way, giving him enough of an opening to call someone on a walkie talkie.

_ And now we know why you’re attacking us and stealing demigods.  _ “I’m tired of all this talking, Thals, what do you say we end this?” We shared a grin as we stood, clasping hands before charging in together for the kill instead of just trying to weaken him. The snow gave me all the energy I needed and a great way to fight. As I slashed and parried his strikes, I changed the ground from grass to ice back to snow to flowing water so while Dr. Thorn was stumbling, I had perfect balance. I honestly thought we were going to win until he pinned Thalia down and sent me flying into my own shield with a lucky shot. It turned back to snow as stars danced in front of my eyes, Bianca’s face hovering over mine as she tried to see if I was alive. 

A helicopter arrived just as their backup did, though the only reason he knew Annabeth was there were her imprints in the snow. Grover’s reed pipes started playing a Hillary Duff song that the plants seemed to like, grass peeking through to tangle in the manticore's feet. Annabeth suddenly appeared on its back as her yankee’s cap got knocked loose, her knife embedded between his shoulder blades as she held on for dear life. Her hair whipped in the wind and for a second I thought the storm building in the winds was her fault, before I realized I had somehow gotten to my feet.  _ Right, stormbringer’s kid surrounded by water. Me makes more sense.  _

What I was absolutely certain  _ none _ of us did was blow some sort of hunting horn or shoot a bunch of silver arrows into the manticore's body because for one, we didn’t have the weapons for that, and two,  _ Annabeth was still on his back and they were putting her in danger. _

Even as the manticore and whoever shot those arrows argued, I could feel the ocean starting to churn with my anger over how blatantly they were ignoring all of us like we were nothing. I’d had enough of that for a lifetime and I was getting sick of it seeping into the one world that I had people who cared about me. The ground shook with every step I took and I could see Thalia crackling with electricity out of the corner of my eye, my expression of anger reflected on her own face. Time seemed to start moving again when Thalia called on lightning to add our display, deterring the helicopter that was trying to save Thorn. 

“At least I can take one of you with me, and it's even the one the boy wanted!” He toppled over the cliff that he had been inching closer to, Annabeth still on his back with no opening for escape. Maybe the arrows had pinned her to him, maybe she had been poisoned by one of the spikes. All I knew was she was gone the second they tipped over the edge. 

I couldn’t tell you if it was the storm itself, or us, but something roared in that moment and the world went white. When I woke up, Grover was there crying about Annabeth and told me how she was gone. He told me about how Thalia and I had glowed with power, destroyed the helicopters and broken off a chunk of the cliff too. All I heard was that we saved two and lost one and any loss was a failure, even if she might still be alive. 

“Percy Jacksom,  **Lady Artemis wishes to speak with thee.** I suggest thou forbear thy moping, and show her respect.” 

**Zoe led me to the last tent, which looked no different from the others, and waved me inside. Bianca di Angelo was seated next to the auburn-haired girl, ** the form that Artemis had decided to take. She was the same age as her hunters, which was probably why she chose it. 

**"Join us, Percy Jackson," the goddess said.**

I sat down next to Bianca with a questioning look, trying to understand what she was doing here when she could be with Thalia or Nico. “Are you alright? I know it can be a lot to take in, and seeing your first fight before even knowing is worse.” 

Zoe glared at me for something, probably my existence. “How dare thou not address our lady first, thou dishonor her.” She probably could have gone on, but Artemis raised her hand gently to stop her. 

“He inquires about the young maidens state, I feel that is honorable enough for me not to take offense.” 

Bianca watched them talk like she still couldn’t believe what was happening, before finally turning to me. “Thalia sat us down to explain everything, she made sure we were sitting down first and even told me about the hunters. I….I have the option of joining them, if I want. I still haven’t decided. She told me she chose not to, but she would look after Nico if I said yes.” 

I had to stop myself from immediately telling her that camp was the best option, but if Thalia saw something in Bianca to give her approval, I should too. “Thalia took care of me and my half brother when we were younger. She’s like an older sister to me, so don’t worry about Nico, because I’m sure I’ll end up looking after him too.” 

For the first time since we’d met, she smiled. “Good luck with that, you two are his heroes.” She turned back to her hands as a soft blush appeared on her cheeks. That seemed to be the opening that Artemis was looking for as she asked me to tell the story of what had happened before they arrived. So, I told them. 

I told them that Grover sensed two powerful half bloods and had called us for backup in fear of their safety, that we knew Thorn was the monster so we spread out to throw him off our scent and when the di Angelo’s disappeared, Thalia and I followed them. I explained the battle, what he said, and wrapped up with, “and then they disappeared and I blacked out. Used up too much of my powers, probably. Thalia had told me that could happen sometimes.” 

When I shut my mouth, Zoe and Artemis seemed to go into their own little world to discuss something they were hunting, and asked me a few questions about what Dr. Thorn said again, before declaring that she needed to hunt whatever monster she had finally realized was out there. 

**“We will leave right away, my lady.”** Zoe didn’t seem too excited about it, but she was determined. 

**"No, Zoe. I must do this alone. This task is too dangerous even for the Hunters. You know where I must start my search. You cannot go there with me.” ** Artemis was pale as she gripped her weapons, her eyes distant.  **"Let us pray I am wrong.”**

**"Can goddesses pray?" ** I flinched at my own bluntness. She was getting ready to leave her hunters behind and I just blurted out a question like a five year old. 

**A flicker of a smile played across Artemis's lips. "Before I go, Percy Jackson, I have a small task for you. I want you to escort the Hunters back to Camp Half-Blood. They can stay there in safety until I return.”**

It didn’t sound like Zoe was too keen on the idea, and neither was I if it involved burning down cabins and angry campers, but neither of us seemed to have much choice in the matter. 

**"And now there is one last decision to make." Artemis turned to Bianca. "Have you made up your mind, my girl?”**

Bianca nodded slowly before looking at me one last time,like she wanted to see if I would really support her doing this. “You’ve offered me a new family, but I don’t need one. I love my brother and I won’t disregard him for this. But to be free of responsibility….” She wiped away a single tear, staring at it on her fingers. “I’ve been an adult for him for so long….that sounds like a dream.” 

“You’re too young to be a parent, let alone raising him by yourself. But I can see that you truly want to be a part of his life even if in a different way. I promise you that you will see your family as often as you like, though if we’re on an official hunt you’ll need to stay with us.” 

That seemed to be all the assurance she needed before she accepted the offer and pledged herself to Artemis. “ **I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis. I turn my back on the company of men** not of my family **, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the Hunt.'“**

"I accept your pledge, even if you changed it slightly.” There was a proud glint in her eyes as she looked at Bianca.


End file.
